Imagine a future in which schools have been overrun by delinquents and violence has hit an all-time high. Prisons have become insufficient and the government, in a panic, suddenly decides to reform the constitution and create a live 3-day competition called “Battle Royale”. The rules of “Battle Royale” are simple. Students will be shipped to an island and enforced with a collar that will explode after 3 days. To survive they will be given a weapon, randomly selected (some might get a gun or an axe, but others simply get a flashlight or a GPS device). The objective is to kill before someone kills you, and at the end only one person will survive.
When I heard the premise of this film I thought I’d be watching yet another Japanese bloodfest relieved of any wit or common sense; maybe something in the vein of Takeshi Miike’s “Ichi the Killer”, a movie which remains one of the most uncomfortable viewing I have ever experienced (Miike is a talented filmmaker and “Ichi” has a devoted cult, but the story is impenetrable and the violence is so excessive it achieves levels of cartoon lunacy).
“Battle Royale”, however, was a richer and smarter experience than I had hoped for. Yes, it is pretty violent but there are characters worth spending time with, and excellent performances (especially by the always interesting Takeshi Kitano). The movie isn’t always winking at the audience and takes its storyline very seriously; hell, I even loved its eclectic soundtrack.
The movie became a cult item almost immediately and inevitably produced a sequel. But “Battle Royale 2” isn’t only inferior to the original in every way, it is an abomination; all the charm of the original has been drained and instead we get terrible overacting and endless action sequences with absolutely no back story or reason to exist, for that matter. Here’s a sequel fans simply ignore and pretend it never happened (I also heard rumors of an American remake, but I decided to ignore them too since I think it’s a terrible idea).
The original “Battle Royale” may have hints of political and social themes interwoven in its violent story but it is, more than anything, an entertaining example of Japanese cinema and a very original work.
"Hello I'm the nostalgia critic: and i remember it so you don't have to" :P
ResponderEliminarOk, after this small tribute......American remake?!!!! I guess you didn`t see "The condemed"............ if you didn't then don't, not only the performance of "Stone Cold" Steve Austin REAAAALLY sucks, but the slow motion secuences are over used, and the storyline....... well it's just not as rich as Battle Royale, you never, even once feel conceted or even any kind of simpathy for the characters
That was one looong movie..... or maybe it just seemed long because it was so boring... i don't know, but as long as american remakes go, they would be better off remastering the original movies as in "Star Wars".