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    Battle Royale

    Reviewed by
    adamwatchesmovies@

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    "Battle Royale" is one of the best entries in the "kill for the audience" genre and despite some odd directional choices that will alienate western audiences it's a very entertaining film. The premise is that a class of high school Japanese students are on their way to a field trip when they are suddenly gassed and fitted with electronic explosive collars. They are told that they are now participating in the annual Battle Royale. They have three days to eliminate each other until only one student remains alive. To do so, they are given survival supplies and a random weapon to combat each other. These can range from poisonous pills, to grenades, to firearms and even pot lids or paper fans.

    A large portion of the movie is a parody or commentary on the growing gap between Japan's youth and elderly culture; how the younger generations seems to be losing respect for their elders and how the country is struggling to cope. It’s a deliberate decision that there doesn’t appear to be any real reason to have the "BR act" pan out, except to thin out the youth population. Despite its violent and gory fight scenes, the movie also has a lot of drama, with teenagers struggling with their friends turning on each other, the hopeless situation they have found themselves in and the feelings that have kept bottled inside for years. Mixed in with this drama we find a lot of creative action, with characters being given different weapons to fight with, some of which often seem quite useless (and some of which are genuinely no good) I liked how the students and their overseers were developed, how we have that mix of reluctance and enthusiasm from a lot of the killers. It makes for a lot of complex emotion among this carnage. I also thought the characters were memorable and enjoyable to follow, even the side or evil ones.

    With the director's cut, the film often takes strange paths, with bizarre dream sequences interrupting the film and a recap of all the dream sequences towards the end that feels unnecessary. It disrupts the momentum and if there’s some kind of symbolism in there, I didn’t get it. Audiences that are not familiar with the themes of the movie will also find themselves scratching their heads several times during the plot. This is one of those movies that’s a lot of fun to watch and will be even more so once you do a bit of research (I’m sure everything you need to know is included in the special features) Don’t let the fact that I’m telling you about somewhat of a cultural barrier dissuade you from seeing this very enjoyable film. There's much more to "Battle Royale" than just people butchering each other for your entertainment; there's a lot of good drama and interesting characters here and it’s filled with memorable moments you will want to re-visit and re-examine. (Director's Cut on Blu-ray, January 25, 2013)

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    adamwatchesmovies@  25.7.2015 age: 26-35 2,867 reviews

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