The manga was spun off into anime and TV live-action series but the smartly entertaining 2006 two-part movies “Death Note” and “Death Note: The Last Name,” released five months apart, were what propelled the franchise to almost legendary status in Asia. Combining supernatural fantasy with first-rate sleuthing, the manga also puts forth intelligent arguments that draw the line between vigilante-style justice and by-the-book law enforcement. Despite good pre-sales in Asia, the movie has yet to bow Stateside but may serve as a warm-up to Adam Wingard’s remake of Kaneto’s superior version.Ī 2003 manga written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takashi Obata, “Death Note” centers on Light Yagami, alias Kira, who decides to “cleanse the world of crime” after receiving a notebook that allows its owner to kill someone just by writing his or her name in it. Lacking the scintillating mind games that made the original so watchable, the film is at best a broad action-thriller. Picking up 10 years after Shusuke Kaneto’s two-part Asian hit, the new installment helmed by Shinsuke Sato tries to multiply the fun by unleashing three shinigami (“Gods of Death”) and six Death Notes on the world. Too many Grim Reapers spoil the wake in “Death Note: Light Up the New World” - an over-plotted, action-heavy reboot of the groundbreaking Japanese vigilante fantasy that makes murder as easy as jotting down someone’s name.
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