Death Note (A Netflix Film) Reviews - 37 Metacritic - 30% RottenTomatoes

[pokoko]

curl-6 said:

Zekkyou said:

I don't even understand how they could mess it up this much. They have a manga, anime, and Japanese live action film series to take reference from, and clear evidence that the series is already easily digestible by a western audience. It should have been average at worst.

It should have been easy to get right, I agree, but I never underestimate the ability of Hollywood/Netflix/etc to mangle foreign media adaptions. I think the problem is that they deeply underestimate the ability of Western audiences to enjoy media from other cultures, try to make it more Western, and as a result miss the point of the original.

I understand what they're thinking.  They want another teen horror series, so they make attractive characters a priority.  They try to make it "accessible" so they bland it down and take away parts they think teenagers won't get.  What they end up with is a vanilla vehicle that only resembles the original on the outside.  They're just using the popularity of the original in order to create something else of their own but with a dash of added name recognition.  It's devious.  That's why I never get hyped about this kind of thing.  It's simple exploitation.

Also, have you seen SPEC 2?  Watching Erika play a rude, awkward, and unkempt detective-savant was pretty amazing.  One of my favorite series ever.