Death Note Movie - If A Name Can Kill
Title: Death Note
Genre : TV Series, Suspense/Mystery
Publisher: Warner Bros Japan
Language: Japanese
What if you have the power of the god of death, at the palm of your hands? Would you use it for good, or evil? Then again, could such power can ever be good? That is probably the message that this movie tries to deliver.
Death Note is adapted from a popular manga in Japan, with the same title. It tells a story of a boy, who accidentally (?) found a shinigami (god of death/grim reaper) notebook, bestowing him with the shinigami's ability to kill a person simply by putting his/her name on the book, and the company of the previous owner along with it. While the DVD cover said it to be the "movie", it is actually a compilation of the TV series, aired in Korea recently (that explains the Korean letter on the title cover).
The story begins with a scene of panic when a notorious criminal is creating some disturbance on TV. Among the public, a young bot carrying a misterious black notebook is watching the details of the incident. He then secretly writes down the name of the criminal in his notebook. Seconds later, the criminal is then reported to be dead because of heart attack. The newscast reported this as the work of Kira, an unknown dark figure which has been killing criminals aired in the news lately. The young boy smiles. The story then goes back to several months before the incident. The young boy, Yagami Raito (Light Yagami in the English translation) was taking a walk around the dark sides of the city (which actually doesn't make sense, since he is supposingly a guy with a high sense of justice). Yagami Raito is a law student, who's tired of the way of the world today, where bad guys can walk away easily by paying off the law. Frustrated, he suddenly stumble upon a black notebook, with a word "DeathNote" written on it's cover. He picks it up, and suddenly a monstrous figure appear before him. The monster claims himself to be Ryuuku, a shinigami who happens to be the owner of the book. The book is his tool to claim human souls, simply by writing their name in the book then he/she will die. He also claims that only the person who holds the book can see him, and that person can also uses the book's ability -- in short, becomes a shinigami. He then gives the book to Raito.
Raito didn't believe it at first, but as he found out for himself it's ability, by writing a name of a criminal he saw on the TV on the book, he then decided to use them for his higher purpose -- to rid of the world from criminals forever. He then secretly lives a double life as Raito, the study-hard university student and son of a police inspector, Inspector Yagami, and as Kira, the slayer of those who commit crimes. One catch is, he cannot kill a person unless he knows the person's name and face. But the more he uses the book, he found more ways to use it for his demise, such as if he does not wrote the cause of death, it will a heart attack, else he can also controls the victim's behaviour even time of death. Kira is soon becoming a name, both feared and worshipped by the public.
In response to the increasing number of dead criminals, the police force then seeks the aid of FBI agents, and a secret detective called L, who never reveal himself but a sound from a computer and a helper named Wataru. The story then develops into the battle of wits between Raito, L, FBI agents and Japan police forces.
The Good:
What really impress me is, in spite there is no gore, monsters (except Ryuuku) or flashy swordfights etc., I can stop watching this movie. This movie present a game of cat-and-mouse that is so intense, an very complicated yet so compelling. It's like a Japanese pop culture modern detective story , where both Kira/Raito and L is very sophisticated in their actions. I highly recommend this movie, especially when you have read the manga. And what impress me more, that most of the cast appearance is EXACTLY the same as the manga. This shows a very good casting crew who we should thank to. Death Note is not your average Japanese Movie, it's the Da Vinci Code of Japanese suspense/mystery. Also I recommend you to not blink, as every scenes in this movie is cleverly related to the next one.
The Bad:
As much as I wanted it to be the same as the manga, there are some differences. And the character has much different appearance from the manga, which is too bad. Raito is also less 'cool' in the movie than the one in the manga. Also, the CD does not contain the final episode of the movie yet.. bummer. We'll probably have to wait on it.
Results:
Yawn Factor : 2
Didn't sleep during the whole movie, though there are some boring long talks
Yay Factor : 8
Cool plot, not to mention cute Japanese chicks - need I say more?
Final Result : 2 thumbs up
What to do when watching :
Go to the bathroom first, or you'll miss some important scenes
What to do after watching:
Read the manga
Also watch:
Devilman
Publisher: Warner Bros Japan
Language: Japanese
What if you have the power of the god of death, at the palm of your hands? Would you use it for good, or evil? Then again, could such power can ever be good? That is probably the message that this movie tries to deliver.
Death Note is adapted from a popular manga in Japan, with the same title. It tells a story of a boy, who accidentally (?) found a shinigami (god of death/grim reaper) notebook, bestowing him with the shinigami's ability to kill a person simply by putting his/her name on the book, and the company of the previous owner along with it. While the DVD cover said it to be the "movie", it is actually a compilation of the TV series, aired in Korea recently (that explains the Korean letter on the title cover).
The story begins with a scene of panic when a notorious criminal is creating some disturbance on TV. Among the public, a young bot carrying a misterious black notebook is watching the details of the incident. He then secretly writes down the name of the criminal in his notebook. Seconds later, the criminal is then reported to be dead because of heart attack. The newscast reported this as the work of Kira, an unknown dark figure which has been killing criminals aired in the news lately. The young boy smiles. The story then goes back to several months before the incident. The young boy, Yagami Raito (Light Yagami in the English translation) was taking a walk around the dark sides of the city (which actually doesn't make sense, since he is supposingly a guy with a high sense of justice). Yagami Raito is a law student, who's tired of the way of the world today, where bad guys can walk away easily by paying off the law. Frustrated, he suddenly stumble upon a black notebook, with a word "DeathNote" written on it's cover. He picks it up, and suddenly a monstrous figure appear before him. The monster claims himself to be Ryuuku, a shinigami who happens to be the owner of the book. The book is his tool to claim human souls, simply by writing their name in the book then he/she will die. He also claims that only the person who holds the book can see him, and that person can also uses the book's ability -- in short, becomes a shinigami. He then gives the book to Raito.
Raito didn't believe it at first, but as he found out for himself it's ability, by writing a name of a criminal he saw on the TV on the book, he then decided to use them for his higher purpose -- to rid of the world from criminals forever. He then secretly lives a double life as Raito, the study-hard university student and son of a police inspector, Inspector Yagami, and as Kira, the slayer of those who commit crimes. One catch is, he cannot kill a person unless he knows the person's name and face. But the more he uses the book, he found more ways to use it for his demise, such as if he does not wrote the cause of death, it will a heart attack, else he can also controls the victim's behaviour even time of death. Kira is soon becoming a name, both feared and worshipped by the public.
In response to the increasing number of dead criminals, the police force then seeks the aid of FBI agents, and a secret detective called L, who never reveal himself but a sound from a computer and a helper named Wataru. The story then develops into the battle of wits between Raito, L, FBI agents and Japan police forces.
The Good:
What really impress me is, in spite there is no gore, monsters (except Ryuuku) or flashy swordfights etc., I can stop watching this movie. This movie present a game of cat-and-mouse that is so intense, an very complicated yet so compelling. It's like a Japanese pop culture modern detective story , where both Kira/Raito and L is very sophisticated in their actions. I highly recommend this movie, especially when you have read the manga. And what impress me more, that most of the cast appearance is EXACTLY the same as the manga. This shows a very good casting crew who we should thank to. Death Note is not your average Japanese Movie, it's the Da Vinci Code of Japanese suspense/mystery. Also I recommend you to not blink, as every scenes in this movie is cleverly related to the next one.
The Bad:
As much as I wanted it to be the same as the manga, there are some differences. And the character has much different appearance from the manga, which is too bad. Raito is also less 'cool' in the movie than the one in the manga. Also, the CD does not contain the final episode of the movie yet.. bummer. We'll probably have to wait on it.
Results:
Yawn Factor : 2
Didn't sleep during the whole movie, though there are some boring long talks
Yay Factor : 8
Cool plot, not to mention cute Japanese chicks - need I say more?
Final Result : 2 thumbs up
What to do when watching :
Go to the bathroom first, or you'll miss some important scenes
What to do after watching:
Read the manga
Also watch:
Devilman
