I did not want to like this movie, it's not true! It's bullshit! I did not want it! I DID NAAAHT! Oh hi, Mark

This version of _Death Note_ is very different; felt a bit rushed in the beginning because of how it was edited, but I learned to appreciate some of the later bits and pieces. Before I go into details, I want to state that I watched _Death Note_ the animation and the original live-action films long before they started airing on US networks; just so anyone reading would know where I'm coming from. I'm also familiar with director Adam Wingard's works such as the _V/H/S_ series, _You're Next_, _The ABCs of Death_, and saw his surprise _Blair Witch_ sequel in theaters last year. I think Wingard did some things right in terms of adapting _Death Note_ to American standards. In the original manga/films, Light has a full happy family, but in modern America, the majority of families are broken, divorced or single parents. That aspect couldn't be more true. It wasn't necessary, and they could've chosen not to go that way, but maybe whoever wrote the script wanted to show that part of America, and perhaps is what adds to Light's character. The Light here is still a bright student. He is smart in his school work and academics, but not so smart when it comes making daily life choices (such as getting into trouble or hanging out with the girl, Mia). This made me think of my psychology class back in high school, and how the teacher Mrs. Ansara said that I was a "bright kid."; not to me directly, but heard from another teacher towards the end of that senior year. I chuckled when Mia was seen watching _Phantasm_ (1979), a classic horror flick. If I was in a relationship moment like Light and Mia, I'd stop in the middle of the heated argument and go, "Before we do anything else, let's finish this movie first." I think Wingard added that part in as a tribute to the late Angus Scrimm (aka The Tall Man) who sadly passed away last year. Oh, and there was a moment when Light opened Mia's locker and there hung a note that read "Normal People Scare Me" in I recognize as the same font as the _American Horror Story_ logo. I wonder if that means anything. I know had joked about the casting for L when the trailer dropped (check the official Death Note Facebook page), but in reality I was actually optimistic because I had already seen how well the actor was in a previous film, _Get Out_. Sure enough, he did not let me down as L. The cinematography is as expected from a known American director. The camera angles, the use of light and shadows are done really well. I especially liked how it looked at the diner when L meets Light with the neon lights and Ryuk appearing behind with the rain dripping along the glass window. Dafoe did a good job, fits well with Ryuk, but the editing of his voice sound like he's always in front of you, in front of the microphone, and not as spacious to sound as if he's at a distance in another room to give it a more believable depth. Perhaps that part of planning didn't take into account because maybe the post production CG was done after filming/recording. I'm not sure I agree with the soundtrack either. The score and song productions are very good but I don't think they fit well with the show, or at least used very well. A lot of shows today tend to add classic 80s songs to try to be cool. It's one thing to play an 80s song, but when you use it in the wrong context it loses its coolness (_Scream Queens_, for example - overly done). Towards the end of the film, there's an 80s power ballad "The Power of Love" (by Jennifer Rush, made famous by Celine Dion, Air Supply) that plays extensively loud while the characters are still talking and having a moment. The lyrics to that song has no relevance with what's happening onscreen. It's both distracting and made me cringe. It even continues playing through the end credits. I didn't really feel the love connection between Light and Mia, nor did I want to. It's interesting to see Wingard try a bit of romance though, but I think it's better off he keeps that to a minimum. There was a night chase scene that had a cool synthwave track playing in the background while the neon lights and wet streets gave it a bit of a _Blade Runner_ cyberpunk vibe. That's a visual element never before seen in any version of _Death Note_. It's cool but felt a bit out of place. I prefer my _Death Note_ to have muted colors, much so that if you were to tone down the saturation completely, the film would still look good in black and white. That way, it'd give the film a more classy dark gothic tone. The contrast of that would reflect the characters themselves who are of opposite skin tones. At least they got the detective/mystery and suspense down, but how will they explain the supernatural/fantasy aspect? There's way more to the _Death Note_ story than what they were able to fit here. I think it would've worked better as a live-action series/miniseries, not just a feature film, to better fit with other Netflix ("original") shows like _13 Reasons Why_, _Riverdale_. Overall, I felt this was more of a fan film. It's as if someone were to make a professional-looking bootleg live-action fan short, put it up on YouTube/Vimeo, and people in the comments praising it, saying they'd watch an extended version if given the budget. That's pretty much what this _Death Note_ felt like to me, a full-length live-action American remake of a once popular property. Well, here you go, kids. Eat it up. Personally, I'd rather see more original content from Adam Wingard than something based on an existing franchise. Now I hear he's working on a remake of the 2010 Korea psychological thriller, _I Saw The Devil_. Like the many countless remakes, it's unnecessary.

It at least got me excited at showing , maybe Mia can be genius behind the scenes. Sadly they didn't go through even that plot-line. Everyone is dumb , is that what they think Americanize means , well !