I've only read the manga - and I stopped after the big midpoint. I liked the story up until then, though, and have been meaning to give it another chance. I have seen one of the live action DN movies as well (the second one, which has a different and quite good ending) and quite enjoyed it.

Actually, quite a few people I know have started using 'Death Note Ending' for series where the best resolution for a series is the death of the lead character...