Customer Reviews

The human whose name is written in this note shall die. - By: J. Gradwell, 02 Nov 2008
Death Note is a live action film based on the hit manga & anime of the same name.

For a start it stays true to what its based off there is some great acting.

Light(The villain/anti hero of the story) is brilliantly visualized & as for L well the same can be said only even better!

It does change some of the plot (its a film & it doesnt have time to play with like the manga or anime)but its done right & even a fan wont know what happens next!

Well worth it fantastic version of a great series.

----Alex Gradwell/Venomtheevil

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Not exactly like the manga, but still excellent - By: Felicia Hardy, 17 Oct 2008
Firstly, this DVD set is beautiful. The case has been made to look like an actual Death Note, with the rules & a couple of notebook pagesin the front. The rest of the pages give actor & character bios & directors & producer notes. The attention to detailin the marketing is second to none.

As for the film, I thought the inevitable changes would bother me, but they don't. In fact, I think if the writers of the manga had thought of these changes, they would have included them. The character of Naomi Misora is put to good use instead of just disappearing. Without spoiling the story, she really helps set up just how evil (and clever) Light is, which is needed for the sequel.

The actors have been chosen well. Misa & L especially, were so like the characters from the manga (apart from Misa not having blond hair). I found Light's face a bit too wide to be like the manga drawing, but his acting was still good.

If there are any Death Note fans reading this, buy this limited edition set NOW before it is no longer available (the sequel too for that matter). I am so glad I did.

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Different but still great - By: T. R. Alexander, 31 Aug 2008
Death Note is one of the most popular franchises to come out of Japanin a while with the original manga, an anime series & two live action films to its name, all of which have had rave reviews around the world. This is the first of the two movies & although there are some major changes to the plotin places, it does remain a great story.

In the film Light Yagami discovers a Death Note, a notebook used by Shinigami (Gods of Death) to kill people. Light uses this Death Note to begin ridding the world of criminalsin order to create his perfect world. Meanwhile the Japanese police are approached by the mysterious but brilliant detective L who has a plan too capture the anonymous killer known as Kira.

The story for this film is, as I have already said, changed somewhat from that of the manga & anime but many of these changes are understandable due to having to fit as much information into the two hours of the film as possible. Despite this most of the characters remain relatively unchanged & if anything Light is even more manipulative & cold hearted than he isin the source material. As well as this a couple of the changes made to the story do actually keep you guessing as to what will happen towards the end even if you have read the source material.

The main problem that this film has is that the acting on display is rather hit & miss with some of the people involve being dreadfully hammy & others being quite good. This is quickly forgotten though as the quality of the writing is very high & the film remains extremely enjoyable all the way through. In the end this live action adaptation of Death Note is a worthy addition to the franchise & while it is something of a different animal to either the manga or the anime, it is no less enjoyable for that.

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Good film, but very long-winded - By: V. Flack, 22 Aug 2008
My brother bought a copy of this off eBay (a region 0 release from Taiwan), which wasn't bad at all - & we've both watched it 2 or 3 times.

It has a nice mix of horror, crime, thriller, plot twists & comedy (Ryuk bouncing around & freaking out because he can't have an apple was especially hilarious).

The acting is very good, with lots of the actors having been very experienced beforehand - the actor (I forgot his name... temporarily) who plays Light was the main characterin Battle Royale, for those who can remember it. :)

I thought it went on quite long for a film, & there were some 'filler' scenes, that made it very long.

I did like the slight 'twist' at the end, although it's not canon to the anime or manga.

In short, 3 stars because it's long, but, on a positive note, it's a very good film that will keep you thoroughly entertained for its 2-hour ride.

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An intelligent, twisty, and quite bizarre flick - By: Mr. Od Smith, 17 Aug 2008
Although the film came out two years agoin Japan, & the original manga & anime spin-off have been available freely for three years, I was eagerly anticipating the Death Note movie as soon as I heard it was being made, as the idea is sheer genius. And, luckily, the film takes the proverbial & runs with it.

The story starts with idealistic law student Light Megami feeling disillusioned that criminals are escaping justice by getting off on technicalities & remainingin their ways, & confronts a recently acquitted Yakuza. On the way home, he finds the titular Death Note that the God of Death, Ryuk, accidentally droppedin the real world & experiments & finds it works, so begins to rid the world of all criminals that have escaped justicein short order.

Doing this, he arouses interest from the authorities who believe a serial killer they dub "Kira" is at work, even though at the same time the general public are behind the character they have dubbed Kira, as nobody knows that Light is the one responsible. And, as the authorities close in, Light begins to eliminate those who are trying to catch him, although he cannot eliminate the one person that remains a thornin his side: L.

Light's slide from an idealist who is acting as any person would, to a megalomaniac who appoints himself judge, jury & executioner, to the person who starts to eliminate anyone that opposes Kira is the main crux of the story of this & the sequel, Death Note: The Last Name, as well as the source of the main drama. Also, as Light learns he can't just write a name to kill the person as it raises suspicion, the deaths he maps out get increasingly inventive to take the focus away from Kira and, as a result, himself.

However, the film has a lot of light amidst the clearly dark plot, mainly the interplay between Light & Ryuk, as well as L's manner that baffles the authorities.

The performances, mainly Light & L (I can't reveal any more as I'd promptly spoil half the plotline instantly) are top notch, as they engagein a battle of wits between L & Kira, & as stated previously Tatsuya Fujiwara captures the range of Light's motives brilliantly.

There may be a lot to takein on the face of it, butin actual fact the film is easy to get into & follow, & it's only one plotline that is left hanging (it sets up, & is only explained in, The Last Name), & it's a lot of fun once you get into it.