Death Note

I watched Death Note! I shall write this as a movie reviewer instead of as a manga reader, since I think the movie itself was pretty darned brilliant, adaptation or no. The storyline was seriously twisted, and somewhat in the league of Seven (for those who actually watched that).

The story is about this kid who finds a notebook belonging to a death deity. If a name is written in the book, and the person's face is thought of, the person of that name will die of a heart attack. Additional details may be included to induce other deaths. However, people cannot be compelled to kill by writing in the Death Note.

When criminals started dying in large numbers, the authorities started suspecting a killer. They called in L, a seriously weird character, to investigate.

I loved the movie for its narrative. There were few special effects except for the animation of the death deity. Much of the story was told by implication, explication and the prominence of significant objects. Objects related to the crimes were brought up, and though they were not explained, the mere presence of those objects told the story all by themselves. Also, the story explained the rationale behind certain apparently illogical deaths through the admission of the protagonist.

I'd say that this is a great movie, and a rather refreshing break from the usual action movie packed to the brim with special effects. It just takes drama, a brilliant narrative and good acting to bring this movie to life.