Death Note.
Having seen the Anime and now the Netflix movie, I’ve gotta say it is a real step down from the anime.
The main character goes from being a privileged kid playing out a power fantasy (in the anime) to being a guy who has a genuine motivation for killing people due to his difficult family history and bullying at school (the movie). I know this makes it seem like the movie did it better, but much of the power of the anime is that Light begins killing because of latent nihilism and savior complex endemic of most adolescents, and giving him such a troubled past obliterates this subtle yet powerful impetus and serves only to alienate him from much of the audience. The rough acting doesn’t help matters.
At the outset, L is a casualty of the accelerated pace of the movie. We have no time for his though processes, no cat-and-mouse game with Light. Instead he is supercharged with an intense desire for justice which occasionally manifests in violent outbursts, and by the end he becomes the best thing about the movie. The acting was excellent, and in the hands of a more competent writer and director he would have surpassed the L of the anime.
Ryuk and Mia were as expected, merely functional.
One thing which surprised me was the (unintentional?) comedy of the action, which grew throughout until the climactic action setpiece. It is impossible to take it seriously, but at least it’s so over-the-top that it’s memorable.
Recommendation: Don’t watch this unless you’ve first seen the anime and want to laugh at some amusing ineptitude. At least then it will be a fun time.