10 Comic Book Movies That COMPLETELY Wasted Their Potential

A story about a book that dooms anyone if their name is written in it and their death happens in the exact way the writer dictates? That sounds awesome! Well, outside of Willem Dafoe's pitch-perfect casting as Ryuk, little else met the potential of the project.

The film's initial tone and atmosphere that it establishes are actually pretty gripping, but all too quickly, everything turns a bit too silly. Ryuk's introduction (an initially great scene) is ruined by Light's over-the-top comedic screaming, leading to an immediate disconnect in the tone.

Death Note becomes this mess of goofiness and gore-filled deaths without much in-between. Nat Wolff is miscast as Light, unable to strike that 'brooding with intention' acting style that the likes of Ryan Gosling have nailed through the years.

Director Adam Wingard seemed more intent with diving more into the Final Destinationesque components of the story with much of the source material's true depth lost entirely. If Willem Dafoe hadn't been here to add plenty of his usual charm, things could've turned out even worse.