Rating: 
Summary: greatest asian movie ever?
Review: how to begin....
this movie is one of the most brilliant ideas ever. The plot is basically that society has run amok (more specifically a communist type society)and the children have no ambition nor will to strive for greatness, in order to instill this in them each year one 9th grade class is selected to be sent to an island and with a bag of weapons, food and water given 3 days to kill everyone on the island, if there isnt a winner in 3 days they all die. The story is fast paced and interesting and there is even a body toll listed everytime someone dies. Be sure to get the UNRATED cut, as every cut version I have seen is lacking at least 20 minutes.
Rating:
Summary: A brilliant movie, but what basketball game?!
Review: I bought this DVD based on Amazon reviews, and it didn't disappoint. Unlike Series 7, which had nothing more than a concept, Battle Royale is an excellent movie on all fronts - plot, acting, script, cinematography, music-score. My only gripe was that some characters took a LOT of bullets before they finally died, can't help feeling this was a trifle unrealistic.This movie is well worth buying, you can watch it over and over. BUT I think the version I got had some scenes cut out! What is the basketball scene that you are all talking about? The only time I saw a basketball player was when Mimura's "Za Saado Man" program is released. And as for Kitano's obsession with Noriko, I only saw the ice-cream eating dream sequence and the rain-visit scene - was there more?
Rating:
Summary: Battle Royale
Review: I don't want to go on too long here, because I would end up looking like one of those girls in the audience of the Ed Sullivan show watching the first American appearance of the Beatles. You know, the girl screaming her head off in ecstacy and clawing her face in rapture. So I'll just make a few points here and be on my way. This movie moves lightning fast. It's over before you know it.
It's brutal-then hilarious-then sad. It's mind-blowing how I could enjoy the violence on the one hand, and feel empathy for these kids on the other. I liked the film version of Battle Royale much better than the book, which is saying something because the book was one of the most unique and entertaining I've read in ages. But the film streamlines the story, and eliminates irrelevent ideas. It's bursting with life. There are some things missing that I enjoyed in the book. But I don't fault the movie for this. Film is an entirely different medium and there will always be a give-and-take that gives both the novel and the movie benefits over one another. The subtitles do not make Battle Royale any less involving.
And anything I may have missed the first time around, I see as a benefit, because it gives me new things to discover each time I watch it. There are plenty more things I could say, but it would only add up to one thing. It's excellent.
Rating:
Summary: Great But Disturbing
Review: I have the uncut double DVD set of this movie. Its a great movie but its really too disturbing for me to watch again. Kind of hard to watch gorgeous Japanese girls being slaughtered by a sick game. If you are an aficionado of Japanese culture you will really enjoy this movie. This movie is really violent and bloody so beware. At the end of the movie you will be moved to tears. The 2nd DVD with all the special features doesn't have English subtitles so you'll need an external subtitle ripper. I'm sure this double DVD will probably be reissued because of the success of Kill Bill and the enormous popularity of actress Chiaki Kuriyama.
Rating:
Summary: Life imitating Art
Review: I have to admit that this movie moved me on many levels. After getting over the initial shock of what is, for very good reason, considered to be not just a violent film but also a very disturbing one in terms of subject - this movie I am convinced is destined to become a cult classic. As mentioned previously, Battle Royale is an unforgiving movie but like all great films there are pockets of resistance and liberation. This exceedingly disturbing and deeply saddening film about watching young kids killing each other out of a primal need to survive should disturb anyone with a shred of humanity left in them. What should be noted is that in this case of art imitating life it opens up a portal of consideration of how people may react in this type of situation and the inherent complexity contained therein. No matter what critics say about its violence Battle Royale is really a story about character. Based on the novel by Takami Koshun, Battle Royale is provocative on many. One way to see the movie is in terms of a not so distant future Japan (which is this case can stand in as a metaphor to other countries) where the government's trepidation about rampant juvenile delinquency and the a lost generation's blatant disregard for order and the rule of law has caused it seek more immediate and less creative ways to deal with the problem, the solution: the systematic annihilation of teenagers. In this case, selected groups of high school kids are deceived and carted of to an undisclosed location, given weapons and supplies and a mission - to kill each other. In an orgy of blood and gore the last person standing is allowed to go home. This, at least for me, brings up two very difficult questions: Is it a story about extermination or discipline? If it is, what possible benefit can be derived from this? Returning quickly to the issue of "character," it is interesting to see how director Kinji Fukasaku and writer Kenta Fukasuka bring Takami Koshun's novel to the screen. It is also interesting to see how director Fukasaku controls a herd of cats in a powerhouse cast of 40+ characters that includes Beat Takeshi's rendition of Kitano as well as the portrayal of Shuya (Tatsuya Fujiwara), Noriko (Aki Maeda), Shougo (Taro Yamamoto), Kazou (Masanobu Ando), Mitsuko (Kou Shibasaki) and Takako (by Kill Bill's Chiaki Kuriyama). I was intrigued to seeing how some of the characters reacted to stressful situations that in some places (unless you watch the film at least twice) are lost around the films central motif of extreme ruthlessness and violence. Needless to say that despite the films wicked cinematography and primitivistic tendencies - it being set in a tropical island and all - not to mention the almost mandatory erotic undertones, it is more than anything, a movie about a society on the verge of imploding. It is noted that Fukasaku's motivations for making the movie transcend politics and society. Dilemma: if your survival rested on you killing your best friends, would you do it? This is the circumstance in Battle Royale and it is a very provocative one. This brutal premise and what happens next is inevitably - a very cruel film. Fukasaku rendition has a Lord of the Fliesesque quality about it. I cannot stress how great a movie this is though. Overall, this is one of the most thought provoking, disturbing, and powerful films released. I was not surprised that this film has not been released in the US but just like the saga of "RINGU" - my guess is that inevitably this film will be hijacked as well - it is the Hollywood way. Another "layer" to be uncovered from this blood-soaked saga is how Fukasaku calls to question a Japanese society whose rage over youth delinquency (as mentioned previously) and has gone so far to imagine a 'final solution.' If it was Fukasaku's intent, it got me thinking that if such a solution were put in place the results would be a fight to the death will be a traumatized, angry and extremely mentally agile mind would be released back on society - making the problem doubly worse - as if the society is cultivating violence. In Battle Royale Fukasaku is thought provoking again in that he allows for pockets of resistance and moments of female empowerment. The sub-plot of hacking in to the system and destroying the whole game and the scenes with Mitsuko (Kou Shibasaki) although not unique add a particular liberating quality to the film. However there still is lingering the disturbing theme of Battle Royale, dealing as it does with the corollary of a system of violence transferred from generation to generation thus perpetuating a cycle of violence. In the end, the hub of the Battle Royale films is that violence without doubt impacts children. Is this what we want as a future for them? A wild, sexy, and thought provoking film that begs to be watched more than one time to be fully appreciated. Miguel Llora
Rating: 
Summary: REVIEW FOR BATTLE ROYALE # 2
Review: I just bought and watched Battle Royale II from a Megacon show. I have never seen part 1, but I'm pretty intelligent, so I can figure out what it is about.
As I get the gist of what happened in the 1st movie in the start of this one, this was interesting to watch. However, I am an American, and therefore, like fast-paced movies and books.
And though this movie is rather fast-paced and action packed, it was overdramatically acted by a couple of its actors, making this comical to watch.
The ACTION SEQUENCES SEEM THE SAME. That's another bad thing about this movie. They all seemed choreographed pretty much the same. Needed more different type of weaponry, and an occasional hand-to-hand - which there is none of!
But I liked this movie, just not as much as I wanted to.
It had great potential with its decent cast and overall very good look to it, along with the cool setting.
It dragged at times, when these newer kids go a-hunting for the surviving kids of the 1st Battle Royale. Cool idea, not so cool execution. But still better than a lot of Asian movies I've seen.
Rating:
Summary: Great Movie, but Wilmington, NC is soo wrong...
Review: I must clarify what this movie is about, Wilmington, NC's review is completely misleading. A shocking tale set in Japan. The government has labeled the next generation (students) the reason to degredation in society. They have greated a BR (Battle Royale) program that places one school class on a deserted island. Class 3B was chosen (9th graders, highschoolers). Awaking on the island they find metal colars on their necks and their teacher explains that they have been chosen for this year's Battle Royale... The Rules: They are given weapons and are forced to kill each other. Only the last one surviving will be able to go home.
Why comply to these rules? If there isnt a winner in 3 days, the colars on the students necks will explode, and no one goes home. Some students form alliances, others will allow nothing to keep them from the win... The producer meant the movie to be for kids the age of those used in the film (highschool) and older, however to his dissapointment the movie was rated R...
Rating: 
Summary: good movie, great book
Review: i really liked this movie, but i was a little dissapointed in some things they took out that seemed incredibly important to the plot(most notably shuyas hatred for the government and his love for rock and roll, and NO mention of bruce springsteen?) also they took out same deaths i was really interested in seeing, the homosexual kid who gets tricked into making his own head explode, and the scene where the kid with the crossbow trys to rape the track runner is very tamed down (in the book she gouges out his eyes and shoves an ice-pick down his throat) also the whole movie seemed to move WAY to fast, the turned a 600+ page book into a 111 minute film. they also removed the mitsuko rape scenes (wich i would understand if this was an american movie but dont you only have to be 14 to be shown nude in japan? well maybe thats just a rumor i heard somewhere) in short i geuss i expected it to be much much more graphic and explicit than it was.perhaps oneday they'll release one closer to the book, and is about 3 hours so they can really catch the charactors the way the book did(some of the students weren't even mentioned in the movie) also i was pretty dissapointed by the ending, i expected the big car chase, and the pencil going into the teachers throat.but if you just wanna see a cool movie than i would strongly reccomend this.
Rating:
Summary: Goose bumps!
Review: I thought the movie was awesome but I do recommend that you read the book first. The characters may seem a bit juvenile and naive, even dispicable (i.e. Kazuo) but you'll understand better because the book goes into very descriptive details about each student. The movie moved along much quicker than I expected and I guess for the sake of cinema they extracted only a few dramatic scenes from the storyline. The one thing I have to point out is that the book dehumanized the adults but the movie made me sypathize with them a bit more. Watch it you'll like it!
Rating:
Summary: What a remarkable movie
Review: I'll start by saying that my appreciation for japanese cinema is limited. This is due to my own lack of patience, not acceptence of its intrinisic differences from American cinema. I like Kurosawa, have seen them all but I wouldn't likely watch them again. I like anime but wouldn't go out of my way to watch it (although the current Teen Titans cartoon is very anime style and I'm finding that I do like it). The japanese monster movies were good when I was a kid. But that's about it for my appreciation of japanese cinema. If you're a snob about it, well, sorry but it is my review. I bought Battle Royale on a self-dare...I challenged someone online to find me a movie that I would love that was shocking and relevent. He told me to get Battle Royale. Again...what a remarkable movie. Its accessible easily by western aesthetics and sensibilities, but at the same time, it is sit-on-the-edge-of-your-seat good. If you are looking for an easy movie to watch, look further. This isn't easy but its very worthwhile and it is one I will not only revisit, but whose novel (on which the movie is based) has already been ordered.
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