Film: Battle Royale

[Reizo]

This film I have to say is one of the classics of this generation. People who are not even into Live action Jap films even know of it. It's presence spreads far and it injects fear into insolent school children haha

 

[simmthd3]

if you liked the movie, definitely check out the manga/anime series the film was based on. multiply the violence by 15 and add some fucked up sex scenes too

 

[TheLoveBandit]

Never read the book, nor the manga....only watched the films BR and BR2. I liked them, definitely liked the first more than the second. The premise wasn't too revolutionary, but I always enjoy a sense of randomness (weapon selection, class selection....though this does not appear to be random) and personal exploration (would you kill? for what?). I enjoyed it overall, and wasn't taken by surprise by much throughout the film, but yeah I'd give it about a B or B- as a grade. The second one, not so much - that I could see being taken from the novel or manga, in that it tries to follow up and build a bigger meaning, but mostly it's crap. I'd give BR2 about a C for a grade. Both of these - watch once, and pass to someone else, not keepers.

 

[junglist15]

there's a manga to this?!?...awesome!

 

[tambourine-man]

Somehow managed to not see this until today.

Overall, I thought it was fairly entertaining piece of fluff. The acting was about standard for an Asian film full of Japanese teenagers - lots of melodrama, suicidal ideation and the obligatory unspoken loves with tragic ends.

On the plus side.... hysterical Jap schoolgirls with semi-automatic weaponry!

I think some of the sub-plots/character motivations get lost in the translation (although crappy screenplay is just as guilty), but I frequently found myself chortling to the miserable fortunes of the kids.