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Plot
At the dawn of the new millennium, Japan is ina a state of near-collapse. Unemployment is at an all-time high, and violence
amongst the nations youth is spiralling out of control. With school children boycotting their lessons and physically abusing
their teachers, a beleaguered and near-defeated government decides to introduce a radical new measure: the Battle Royale Act
Overseen by their former teacher, Kitano ('Beat' Takeshi) and requiring that a randomly chosen school class be taken to a
deserted island and forced to fight each other to the death, the Act dictates that only one pupil be allowed to survive the
punishment. He or she will return, not as the victor, but as the ultimate proof of the lengths to which the government are
prepared to go to curb the tide of juvenile disobedience.
Review
Never in a million years would I have thought that this movie would become one of my favorite movies of all time. This
has everything in it that you could ask for: Great acting, solid directing, nice amount of gore, and kickass story. As a horror
fan, this is a wet dream. Not only does it have huge amounts of gore, many of its kills are creative. And to add to the brutality
factor, these are teenagers killing teenagers, which makes it all the more disturbing.
The scenery is absolutely breathtaking throughout. There are many scenes of the island, which are absolutely beautiful.
There are also some pretty ratty looking places, such as the school, the shrines, and the lighthouse.
Gore
This movie is definitely one of the most brutal films of recent years. Gunshot wounds seem to result in the majority of
deaths, mainly from the films main psycho, Kiriyama. That's not to say that we also don't get other nasty kills. There's an
extremely violent slit neck, which results in plenty of blood. There are also a few stabbings but nothing too grotesque. One
however, seems to take the cake for most brutal kill and that just happens to be the infamous stab in the nuts. It is extremely
realistic but...he had it coming so it's not like I can blame Chigusa.
Memorable Scene
One of my favorite scenes from the movie occurs in the beginning, ending with a very brutal outcome. Young Nobu doesn't
know when to keep his mouth shut so Kitano arms his collar sooner than expected. As the collar ticks away, Nobu runs to his
fellow students searching for help, he finds none. At the last second, Nobu and Shuya exchange words which are very touching.
"Shuya!" "Nobu!". Then the collar explodes, killing Nobu, and completely destroying his neck. Very emotional
scene with great acting from both Nobu and Shuya.
My other favorite scene happens when Kiriyama kills a group of people, which results in one of the victims making a car
explode. This results in Kiriyama becoming half blind. As Kawada walks behind him and cocks his gun, Kiriyama reacts and turns
around for the best shot in the movie. Kiriyama with an insane grin, white eyes, and blood dripping down from his eyes. Kawada
is able to kill Kiriyama by hitting his collar with his shotgun, causing the collar to explode. Incredible scene.
Nudity
None, and I wouldn't want any either.
Killer
In this film, nobody really isn't a killer except for Nobu and the girl at the beginning who is killed before given the
opportunity. In the given situation, all of them are forced to kill each other so just when you thought you're in the prime
of innocence as a freshman...think again.
Characters
I happened to love each and every character in this film. The main character, Shuya Nanahara is genuinely a good kid with
a great motive to keep himself and the girl his deceased best friend was in love with. Now I know, this seems like the person
that should be my favorite character, sorry its not. Now, if you know me, you obviously know who I'd choose for my favorite.
That's right, Uzi wielding psycho Kiriyama. He is such a badass with no remorse that its always a pleasure to watch him on
screen. Its sad to say, but if I were put in the given situation, that's how I'd be acting too. I'd want to live god dammit!
Overall
This film is the best horror film I've seen in recent years. It's absolutely amazing in every aspect and a film that everyone
should learn to love.
10/10
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