Battle Royale

I saw on a youtube video that this was one of Quentin Tarantino favourite films and that he regreted not making it. He was right. It is one of the best asian films ever made.

This movie was recommended to me some time ago by a friend. So I decided to check out what it was all about and found out it's based on a Book. I always like to read/see the source material first so I bought the book over amazon and I have to say I loved it. It was a good story, with great characters and great writing that gave a lot of psychological insight on the characters.

Based on how popular and loved this movie is, I was expecting it to be a great adaptation but after watching it, I can't help but feel a bit disappointed with it all. They take the concept, some characters and some major events from the book but there are A LOT of changes and, IMO, most of them didn't do the story any favor. It all feels a bit underdeveloped and the acting wasn't very strong either. There are also several changes in the motivation of some characters and the whole concept of battle royale shifts from an oppressive government to some sort of "adult vs kids" thing which, despite the fact that I'm aware of the problems japan has with the youth, doesen't make a whole lot of sense-

Anyway, not a bad movie. But I'd recommend you read the book which in my opinion is far superior

Battle Royale, or Batoru Rowaiaru as named in Japan, was a pretty cool Japanese action flick. Most of the special effects were pretty awesome looking, but a few could be considered a bit cheesy, such as the over splattering of blood. Believe it or not, the movie actually had it's funny moments as well. The instructional video from the overly perky girl telling the rules of the death game was a pretty funny bit. Usually the humor from Japanese movies can escape me, but I liked the humor here quite a bit, at least until the action and killing started.

The premise of the movie is that, due to escalating violence in schools, a law is passed which allows the military, or some kind of militia, to take one troubled class and turn them all loose on an island with the object of killing each other until one is standing. They have 3 days to complete their objective or they all die.

As the game begins, every 6 hours there is an update on which classmates were killed and how many were left. These updates also alert the students to danger zones, which are just places you do not want to be when the time comes. The students are all issued a survival pack and a random weapon as well. Some weapons are horrible and useless and some would be great to have in a situation of this kind.

The main characters are Shuya Nanahara (Tatsuya Fujiwara) & Noriko Nakagawa (Aki Maeda) who are close friends and refuse to kill each other. The game is also somewhat rigged with the addition of two "ringers". One of whom plays for fun, another who has another reason. Basically, one good and one evil. The good one is named Shougo Kawada (Taro Yamamoto) and helps the students who he does not find a threat. Also, Chiaki Kuriyama (Gogo Yubari from Kill Bill) puts in an amazing performance. I can see why Quentin Tarantino chose her for his movie based on this part here.

Overall, I really liked this movie - violence, action, humor and all with very few complaints or annoyances. I can recommend this movie with a clear conscience. 8.5/10

Most of the reviewers here speak from their own viewpoints, i.e. non-Japanese westerners, and they praise/knock the movie based on its violence, plot, etc. That's fine. But through their ignorance of the culture this film springs from, they are missing its subtleties.

I've been teaching in a Japanese high school for three years now. Once I saw this movie, I could instantly appreciate its skill and surprising frankness at commenting on some of the sad and strange realities of Japan's modern youth.

Japan is a culture obsessed with youth. Almost everything here is tailored to the under-30 (and much younger, actually) crowd. For example, most westerners watching Japanese TV will be surprised at how childish it seems. The things that seem childish to your average American junior-high student are very appealing for a Japanese high-school student. Girls in their 30s desperately try to be "cute" to attract guys. Adults and children alike read comics by the droves, and sometimes pops up a strange, not-too-well-hidden undercurrent of pedophilia.

This movie takes the heavily cliquish, often childish, and often incomprehensible (to me) social system of young Japanese boys and girls and gives them guns. This is the natural result. Take it from me, the characters and situations are very realistic.

This gets mixed with the growing anxiety among the older generation at the rising rudeness and rebellion of the new generation in a culture that values politeness above all else. From a frustrated and humiliated teacher; to students killing each other over seemingly unimportant squabbles; to the overly-cutesy, peppy training video that perfectly mimics nearly any show on NHK these days -- this film subtly and brilliantly comments on half-a-dozen issues that weigh heavily on the minds of Japanese people today. That's why it was such a big hit in Japan.

Maybe you just have to live here to get it. I give it 5 stars.

** 1/2 out of ****

Battle Royale presents one of the most engrossing and utterly terrifying premises I've ever heard. Take a large class of teenage Japanese students, place them on an island, and force them to kill each other for three straight days until only one student is left standing. Simultaneously, I also realized such a premise would indeed result in an outlandish film that probably couldn't excel as anything other than a relentless thriller or over-the-top satire. Battle Royale aims for both and hits its marks fairly well, for the most part.

To elaborate a bit further on the plot, there are about a total of forty Japanese students on this island. Each has an explosive collar around his or her neck, their incentive to stay in a certain vicinity. They have also been randomly given duffel bags packed with survival items. Some have guns, some have knives, others get binoculars and pot pans, etc. The movie's main focus is on Shuya and Noriko (boy and girl), two close schoolmates who firmly decide not to kill anyone, but must find a way off the island.

The reasons for why the students are forced to participate are a bit murky. Apparently, this is part of a new bill that was passed by the Japanese government, the reasons being the decay of the school systems and the rising juvenile delinquency. The question you have to ask yourself before you watch the film is whether or not you believe circumstances could get so out of hand as to lawfully force teens to kill one another.

Personally, I view it as an over-the-top, but intriguing premise. There are lots of movies that defy "reality," but if the film paints its portrait compellingly, I see no reason why I shouldn't go along for the ride. Primarily, it appears Battle Royale wants to work as a thriller, which it does. The pacing is akin to a roller-coaster, packed with non-stop bursts of bloody violence with well-staged shootouts and fight scenes. While the film's momentum flags here and there, the suspense does build to a crescendo; this is one movie where we truly wonder how it's going to end.

And because it works as a thriller, I give it a moderate recommendation. But it works as little else. Even for this premise, the plot is a bit contrived, with each character having a soap opera-ish background that conveniently lays the groundwork for the violence to reign supreme. Aside from the leads (especially Taro Yamamoto as an older and enigmatic "competitor"), virtually everyone else is a nobody, either clichéd or stereotypical in presentation.

The film's attempts at dark humor are what I found most irksome. As we witness our protagonists struggling for survival, the filmmakers then cut to headmaster Kitano (playing a jaded and psychotic schoolteacher), whose nonchalant behavior will either result in chuckles or baffling expressions. Count me as part of the latter. I enjoy gallows humor, but it doesn't feel appropriate here, no matter how ridiculous the situation may be, and most importantly because the rest of the film is taken very damn seriously.

Equal parts disturbing and viscerally thrilling, Battle Royale doesn't offer anything in the way of good, clean fun. But exploitation buffs and action fans (with stronger constitutions) will get a kick out of it. The film's growing cult status is unsurprising, and in its own way, actually fairly well deserved.