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Battle Royale (Kinji Fukasaku)
"It's kill or be killed in this extreme shocker"
"At the dawn of the Millenium, the nation collapsed. At 15% unemployment, 10 million were out of work, 800,000 students boycotted school. The adults lost confidence, and fearing the youth, eventually passed the 'Millenium Educational Reform Act'...AKA: The BR Act."
42 ninth grade students are taken to a small isolated island with a map, food and various arms. They have to fight each other until only one is left, and they only have 3 days to do this. Each student is locked with an explosive collar that will go off if messed with, when the three days are up, or if they are in a danger zone.
Where do I begin, this is one of very few movies that makes you feel like you are actually there. I've never had so much fun watching a movie like this. It grabs you by the throat in it's first ten minutes and doesn't let go till the very end.
Early on in the movie, you get the jist of things and pick your favourites to win, regardless of the main characters. This movie is so extreme that it makes you think from the very beginning that even the two main characters, Boy #15 and Girl #15, may die at any point in this film. This film instantly caught my attention.
Each character in this movie is given a bag, that contains food, water, a map, some female supplies (for the ladies of course) and a random weapon, and when I say random, I mean RANDOM. The weapons range from an uzi, to a pot lid, and everything in between (paper fan, tracking device, coat hanger, these are their weapons). One poor kid was stuck with boxing gloves. The tagline for this film is "Can you kill your best friend?" Honestly, I don't know if I could. But here teams are formed early, your computer hackers, you're female cooks and your "gang" and you can bet your ass that they are all friends.
After each death, there is a countdown on the screen. "Boys # 7 #8 are dead, 35 to go". Even the teacher, who is mostly the comic relief in this intense film, reads off the death list and the order they died in, just before telling each student what part of the island is a danger zone. The danger zones in the film, add to the suspense, the thrills, the excitment and overall carnage that takes place on screen. Because of these danger zones, you know that the students must always be moving somewhere, or else the collar will explode, ripping their throat open and gushing blood. Which happens early on in the film, just to show you what you're in for. There are so many over-the-top scenes, that fit perfectly in this movie, even when kids are shot dozens of times and yet the just keep on tickin. It does have corney dialouge, but you get passed that and actually may find it enjoyable.
The music is beautiful, the opera sound and opening are perfect for this film, it blends so well with it's tone and the atmosphere surrounding the students.
It's always great to be sitting there cheering for characters, wanting others to die and crying for ones who do. Having this kind of fun in a mvie is once in a lifetime. One part I do not get, but had me laughing saying WTF
It's easy to see where Kill Bill got lots of it's scenes from. This movie will stay in the history of film as one that will shock viewers upon first viewings. If you go into this movie to have fun, you will not be disappointed, if you look deep enough, you will see the politics within it, but for now I will leave that chapter closed, and just leave you with the fact that this film is a must see for any violence craving maniac.
9.5/10
"It's kill or be killed in this extreme shocker"
"At the dawn of the Millenium, the nation collapsed. At 15% unemployment, 10 million were out of work, 800,000 students boycotted school. The adults lost confidence, and fearing the youth, eventually passed the 'Millenium Educational Reform Act'...AKA: The BR Act."
42 ninth grade students are taken to a small isolated island with a map, food and various arms. They have to fight each other until only one is left, and they only have 3 days to do this. Each student is locked with an explosive collar that will go off if messed with, when the three days are up, or if they are in a danger zone.
Where do I begin, this is one of very few movies that makes you feel like you are actually there. I've never had so much fun watching a movie like this. It grabs you by the throat in it's first ten minutes and doesn't let go till the very end.
Early on in the movie, you get the jist of things and pick your favourites to win, regardless of the main characters. This movie is so extreme that it makes you think from the very beginning that even the two main characters, Boy #15 and Girl #15, may die at any point in this film. This film instantly caught my attention.
Each character in this movie is given a bag, that contains food, water, a map, some female supplies (for the ladies of course) and a random weapon, and when I say random, I mean RANDOM. The weapons range from an uzi, to a pot lid, and everything in between (paper fan, tracking device, coat hanger, these are their weapons). One poor kid was stuck with boxing gloves. The tagline for this film is "Can you kill your best friend?" Honestly, I don't know if I could. But here teams are formed early, your computer hackers, you're female cooks and your "gang" and you can bet your ass that they are all friends.
After each death, there is a countdown on the screen. "Boys # 7 #8 are dead, 35 to go". Even the teacher, who is mostly the comic relief in this intense film, reads off the death list and the order they died in, just before telling each student what part of the island is a danger zone. The danger zones in the film, add to the suspense, the thrills, the excitment and overall carnage that takes place on screen. Because of these danger zones, you know that the students must always be moving somewhere, or else the collar will explode, ripping their throat open and gushing blood. Which happens early on in the film, just to show you what you're in for. There are so many over-the-top scenes, that fit perfectly in this movie, even when kids are shot dozens of times and yet the just keep on tickin. It does have corney dialouge, but you get passed that and actually may find it enjoyable.
The music is beautiful, the opera sound and opening are perfect for this film, it blends so well with it's tone and the atmosphere surrounding the students.
It's always great to be sitting there cheering for characters, wanting others to die and crying for ones who do. Having this kind of fun in a mvie is once in a lifetime. One part I do not get, but had me laughing saying WTF
WARNING: "Battle Royale" spoilers below
When the Teacher was shot, then his phone rings and he all of a sudden gets up to answer it
It's easy to see where Kill Bill got lots of it's scenes from. This movie will stay in the history of film as one that will shock viewers upon first viewings. If you go into this movie to have fun, you will not be disappointed, if you look deep enough, you will see the politics within it, but for now I will leave that chapter closed, and just leave you with the fact that this film is a must see for any violence craving maniac.
9.5/10