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Death Note
2017 101 min United States of America R 18+
★4.5
Crime, Fantasy, Horror
Director: Adam Wingard
💬 Based on the comic
«Death Note»
byTsugumi Ohba
Trailers
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Teaser
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Description
Light Turner finds a supernatural notebook and uses it to mete out death, attracting the attention of a detective, a demon and a girl in his class.
Budget:
$40M
Starring
Nat Wolff
Actor
LaKeith Stanfield
Actor
Margaret Qualley
Actor
Key opinion
Netflix's Death Note is a polarizing adaptation that frequently clashes with the expectations of fans of the source material while receiving mixed reactions as a standalone film. While some praise its stylish visuals and Willem Dafoe's performance as Ryuk, many critics and viewers decry the lack of intellectual depth, the simplification of complex characters into teenage tropes, and a disjointed, rushed narrative.
| Acting | Willem Dafoe's performance as the voice of Ryuk is universally recognized as the film's most successful and charismatic element. | |
| Cinematography | The cinematography and visual style are frequently praised for their dark, neo-noir aesthetic and high production quality. | |
| Pacing | The film's pacing is deeply divisive; some appreciate the fast, horror-inspired tempo, while many others find the compressed runtime leaves the plot feeling disjointed and underdeveloped. | |
| Screenplay | The screenplay is highly controversial, with critics arguing it trades the original's philosophical depth and strategic intellectual duels for superficial teen drama and plot holes. | |
| Acting | Character portrayals are widely criticized for transforming complex, intelligent figures into hysterical or unlikable caricatures. | |
| Adaptation | Faithfulness to the source material divides the audience, with some defending the film as a bold Western reinterpretation and others viewing the radical changes to characters and lore as a failure. |