Death Note - Desu nôto: Light Up the New World

A belated sequel to the original DEATH NOTE trilogy, made some time later after those films. The original cast only feature in the smallest roles and at least one of them is a picture on a screen alone. Sad to say, this one's a far cry from the original films; generally it feels very much like a weak sauce imitator that plods over the same old ground without doing anything new with the premise. As before, the police are hunting owners of the Death Note diaries, and there are new villains and new heroes thrown into the mix. Sadly, the new L character is one of the most arrogant and irritating ever, and none of the supposedly shocking twists make an impact. Average at best.

Death Note the anime is one of the all time greatest television series, a true masterpiece and a contender for the most intelligent franchise by far.

I was always fearful to venture into the live action material and that doubled when I watched the embarrassment of Death Note (2017) I finally took a chance and watched Death Note (2006) and was thrilled at how well made it was and loyal to the original material. Sure it had tweaked a couple of parts of the storyline, but it still felt like Death Note.

The sequel was equally great and the third part was perfectly good as well, when I discovered a 4th movie had been made I questioned whether it had reached the stage they were milking it.

Following directly on from the 3rd movie, we're now 10yrs on from the original events of Kira with both Light & L deceased. The death gods have rained death notes down on the world and all hell is breaking loose. It's come down to L's successor and the surviving members of the old team to bring justice to those responsible.

This 4th movie clearly has a larger budget, the shinigami cgi is considerably better and the whole film just looks polished. It follows on perfectly and is a welcome addition to the franchise.

It has it's flaws don't get me wrong, but regardless is a great Death Note film even if it doesn't have the subtlety of the originals.

I'm not sure whether this is the end, I feel like it could continue based upon the ending but this is a decent enough send off should it not.

The Good:

Decent opening sequence

CGI has improved

Shinigami's are great

The Bad:

Some bad, dull and unlikable characters

Story is perhaps too grand for a 2hr film

I watched this movie after the original authors of the Death Note released the Death Note Special One-Shot manga in February 2020. I enjoy the first two live-action movies of Death Note, they give a good alternate story to the Death Note franchise. The third movie is not that good but still watchable. After 10 years of the first movie, is it still a good choice to continue the Death Note movie? To be honest, I did not have much expectation for this movie. I only hope at least it is entertaining regardless of the story it tells.

I don't know if it's just me or everyone, but the whole movie feels really flat. I am sure it is because I've read the One-Shot manga first that made me feel this movie is mediocre. After the innovative storyline from the manga, people expect something different from the story of this movie. But again, repeated formula and lame twist. This is still a disease for Japanese live-action movies in general. The action and drama also did not well. The six death notes in the movie have no impact at all to the narrative aspect of the story. Although the story is flat, I have a bit of hope at the end of this movie. They might end it like I hope it to be. But, the ending is also disappointed. At last, if you want you can still watch this movie. But if don't want to, it still is okay, you did not lose anything important at all.

As a Death Note fan, I was excited when a new film is green-lighted. It is only later when it is revealed as a sequel to Death Note: The last name. Though doubtful, I was still looking forward to see how the saga of Kira could be continued. Crafted as an original story, the first trailer looked intriguing. So how does the final product fare? Death Note: Light up the new world is a decent installment to the popular franchise, paying homage to the franchise. Although it is a sequel, it could easily be a stand-alone film with all the new characters. It may not match the standard of the first two films directed by Shusuke Kaneko but it is a step up from Hideo Nakata's L: Change the world.

The story: Set 10 years after Death Note: The last name, Shinsuke Sato (Director of Gantz) goes straight into the thrills as he opens with a killing rampage in Tokyo. He keeps the pace brisk without slowing down for character's development. The viewers will be thrust into the middle of the cat-and-mouse chase. I think it will be helpful to watch Death Note: New Generation, a mini-series that is the prequel to this. The new characters are interesting enough but nothing beats Light and L. The third act falls to Shinsuke's familiar territory. A thrilling chase followed by an action-packed climax with revelations. Some twists may be a little surprised but if you know Death Note, it wouldn't come off as a big surprise. Shinsuke directs with enough thrills to keep the film afloat. Acting is alright. The characters are fighting for their own screen time. None of the characters stand out. Even Ryuk, the iconic shinigami, has limited screen time. Music is throughout and adds to the thrills.

Overall: It may not hold a candle next to first two films in term of smartness and thrills but it is decent enough to warrant a watch. It is definitely not boring and the CGI has improved a lot. The CGI of the three shinigamis feel more realistic and organic. Is it worthy of being in the Death Note franchise? I would say a 'Yes'. It ends with a common cliffhanger and I wouldn't seeing Death Note taking a new direction. But it will have to wait until this film is deemed as successful. Meanwhile, let's see if the Hollywood remake in 2017 is worthy of its title.

To UnixPuppet: No, the reason people don't like this movie isn't because "it's not Kira and L". We don't like it because it's a poorly done movie.

Regarding your "review"-- the purpose of reviews is to review the movie being discussed, not give your opinion on how wonderful the franchise is. In your entire 10-star review, you didn't speak of this movie at all... but of the original Death Note.

Which brings us to that 10-star review. Do people truly think that users of IMDB can't spot a bogus rating from a mile off? I will grant that people have different tastes and will like / dislike different films. Diversity is fine. But giving THIS film 10 stars when it is nowhere near that level of film quality (and without reviewing the film itself) screams "I'm involved with the film!"

In short, to further discuss "Light Up the New World" itself-- it is a poorly-conceived, poorly written, dull shadow... especially when compared with the original Death note. Whether L and Kira are involved in the film or not is irrelevant; what's relevant is whether the characters who ARE involved and the story line presented are worthy of bearing the name of the Death Note franchise.

In the case of this film, it simply isn't. So a note to those associated with film making: don't rate your own films. If they can't stand on their own, let them fall. Patting yourself on the back is no source of praise.

Sorry, this movie (as several have rightly pointed out) does not present the skill and wit of the Death Note concept.