‘Death Note’ Netflix Early Reviews Are Not Great

Netflix’s Death Note movie tried to crack the code of successfully creating a Hollywood adaptation of a popular anime, but according to early reviews of the film, the experiment falls short.

You can read the roundup of early reviews below. Director Adam Wingard (You’re Next, Blair Witch) creates an offbeat horror-romance-comedy with the film, which follows a boy named Light Turner (Nat Wolff) who finds a mysterious book called The Death Note which grants him the power to kill anyone whose name he writes in it. When Light begins using the power for his own vigilante purposes, he attracts the attention of a methodical detective named “L” (Lakeith Stanfield).

The cast includes Paper Towns star Nat Wolff as Light; The Leftovers star Margaret Qualley as his love interest, Mia; Atlanta and Get Out star Lakeith Stanfield as “L”; Fargo‘s Shea Whigham as Light’s father; and Willem Dafoe as The Death Note’s “death god,” Ryuk.

Hit & Miss

Here at ComicBook.com, our own Kofi Outlaw states that Winguard’s Death Note is something of a mixed bag; strong in some parts, and weak in others (like certain casting). 

The Haters

As you can see below, some people are pretty adamant in their critique that Death Note is a failure. 

Here’s what The Wrap had to say: 

Cheesy, asinine, convoluted and ludicrous. On the plus side, if your eyeballs need a vigorous workout, this will have them rolling nonstop.

Too Short

Indiewire represents the sector of people who feel like the Death Note movie isn’t so much bad, as it is rushed and truncated. 

This reviewer brings up the inevitable talking point: would Death Note have been better as a miniseries? 

Part of you will wish this had been a Netflix show instead of a Netflix movie – part of you will wish Netflix had left it alone altogether.

Great Monster

So far, one consensus about Death Note has been that despite all else wrong, casting Dafoe in the role was the right move. As IGN Movies points out: 

Dafoe absolutely devours the role and chews the surrounding scenery, but he is so entertaining that he only enhances the film.

Franchise Hopes

The reviewer from We Live Entertainment thinks that Willem Dafoe as Ryuk seals the deal for Death Note – and even sets the film up for a larger franchise to come.  

Ryuk is the role Dafoe was born to play and I look forward to Ryuk messing with more well-meaning fools who get in over their heads in future movies.

You can catch Death Note in theaters and on Netflix strating August 25th. It is 1 hour 41 minutes long.