The cultural phenomenon known as "Death Note" is a lot of material to try to turn into an hour and forty minute movie. So what we end up with is a film that goes for cheap thrills instead of a truly satisfying adaptation. You aren't going to get all of the well thought out twists and turns, shocking reveals, or deep looks at the characters and morals of the story. You will get treated to some gory kills and a surprising sense of humor though. This is the kind of thing that is sure to break the hearts of longtime Death Note fans, likely regardless of how much of an open mind they have going into this. The movie's baffling tone and angst-driven teenage romance are just likely to turn off those who have not experienced the manga/anime. Adam Wingard seems to be content with almost parodying the source material. Rather than focusing on twisted, complex characters and the dark motives of it's lead character the movie is perfectly content to have us laugh at everything going on. I could deal with a more self-aware style that's willing to poke some fun at itself, but I can't tell if a lot of the humor was intentional or not. Is the movie actually trying to not take itself seriously, or failing miserably at delivering tension and thrills? Regardless of which is the case, the movie is funny for all of the wrong reasons. The more action-packed conclusion the film has does lead to a nice little twist though. So there is some payoff in the end. While Wingard can't carry the story or tone necessary to keep things afloat, he does deliver some solid visuals. The gore is ridiculously over-the-top adding to that possibly unintentional comedic feeling the movie has, but it's still pretty entertaining to watch. Ryuk looks great and his scenes carry a cool mix of creepy and playful. Probably the thing from the anime and manga that the movie gets the most right. I also have to praise the casting. Nat Wolff, Lakeith Stanfield, and Willem Dafoe are pretty great in their roles as Light, L, and Ryuk respectively even if they aren't playing the same versions of the characters many of us know from the source material. Stanfield even manages to nail some of L's mannerisms. We also have Shea Whigham in a nice and very likable supporting role to help back things up. In the end though the strong cast can't make up for the lackluster writing. This also just isn't a good adaptation of the source material. It's a bad movie, but it's a watchable bad movie. When all is said and done I couldn't tell if I was laughing with it or at it, but it still managed to make me like a few of these characters who are basically originals despite having the recognizable names. I don't recommend watching it. Especially not if you are a fan of the real Death Note story. You won't be bored if you do decide to check it out. Just disappointed. There's so much more that could have been done here and better.