When reading the manga the main characters of L and Light always struck me as very mechanical and slightly dull. Well rounded characters(for me at least) are ones with rich backstory and inner lives. They are able to give the illusion of having lives beyond the story presented. L and Light don't have those traits. I know very little about Light beyond what I see in the story. I know he's psychotic and has a god-complex but I don't know why. He's cold calculating and manipulative. The perfect machine. The same goes for L, in fact it does more so. I know absolutely nothing about L beyond his efforts to apprehend Light. And his 'quirkiness' is just that. It never gives his character any real depth and actually make him more of a novelty than a fully realized character.
Its because of the seemingly mechanical nature of these characters I was hoping that a live-action film would in some ways flesh them out. Good actors after all need to come up with motivation so they can play a scene well. Unfortunetly this doesn't happen. The only actor who mangaes to give some life to his character is the actor who played L. But even he is hampered by trying to stay loyal to the characters cartoony habits and mannerisms which tend to come across as forced and unnatural. A pity. Because this is only the first film the character of Misa is also not completely explored. Sad because she really is my favorite character in the series besides Ryuk. Misa is insane, but we understand that insanity. We know her motivations and how she thinks. She also has a life outside the series unlike the other characters. Ryuk unfortunetly still doesn't get the screen time he deserves. He is a god of death. An amoral force looking down on us poor humans for amusement. He could have been used to add a certain irony and humor to L and Light's actions but unfortunetly never is.
While I don't think Death-Note is a bad film or a bad series. It is flawed and its greatest asset is its wide distribution which exposed it to audiences and readers who perhaps are perhaps unfamiliar with the themes presented. Though it would be foolish of me to deny its (modern) Gothic charm and the amusing cat and mouse between L and Light. It will never come to life to me because of its characters.
I may still watch the second film and my opinions may change depending on how its told but in the end Death-Note the film is just like the series: a mechanical and hollow story.
