*shudders at thought* This will not turn out well. It isn't just America that is horrible at adaption, it is the matter of A Jock playing Japan's best. I have seen all of the HSM movies, hoping he would do better each time. As well as 17 Again. He just can't do it! He doesn't look the part! I don't mean to bash your opinions. But I simply cannot put the two together in my head without a horrible outcome. He may be able to portray emotion, but Light is more than emotion. Light is a role model, hope, the dawning of a cleansing era. My fear is that Light Yagami will be turned into the next Troy Bolton. I sign the petition as a respectable follower of both Kira and L!
..OKAY WHAT.
What's this about Light being a
role model? I... Pardon my surprise, please, but that's really not... not what I would call him.
I like to think of it this way.
Light, at first, is actually just... your average college freshman/ highschool graduate. He is devilishly good looking, and a whiz-kid at that. Even there I have no problem with Zac portraying Light. (Seriously, though? He looks the part. Am I alone in thinking that Zac does indeed, if even a little, resemble Light?)
It is his transition that is the most difficult part of Light to portray. IMO, no even the Japanese adaptaton focused enough on that part. Character complexes are the most important part of a character that actors strive to reproduce. This is why the Joker, in The Dark Knight, is such an appealing character. Heath Ledger's Joker was not only the psycotic clown shown in the other Batman movies, but also his past, and an explanation:
"To prepare for the role, Ledger lived alone in a hotel room for a month, formulating the character's posture, voice, and personality, and kept a diary, in which he recorded the Joker's thoughts and feelings."
I'm not saying that Zac Efron is gonna go all out like this. I'm not saying that he will be as awesome as Heath Ledger was as the Joker. What I'm trying to get across is that Zac has the rare capability to show even the subtlest of his characters' schemes. One of the greatest things I was surprised abot in his recent role in 17 Again was his immaculate portrayal of a husband falling (again) for his wife. He forgets himself. And that alone is cause for applause, because, as easy as it sounds that is the hardest thing to do as an actor.
As soon as I lost that image of Zac as just another 'nice-looking guy whose acting skils were overpuffed by Disney', I saw that he definitely has potential to be an incredible actor.
He was just cursed with a face that makes him look eternally 18. XD