As a dedicated fan of the Battle Royale manga, I eagerly awaited the opportunity to see the live-action film of the same name. I held back, not wanting to spoil the ending of the series, because the manga was a gripping experience all by itself and I was enjoying the ride. However, my friend wanted to see the film so bad and I just gave in and boy did I pay for my curiosity.
I'll explain my utter disappointment for the film in a minute. First, you must understand what the film is about. Japan is close to collapse, ruined by an economy that sees no recovery in sight and an unemployment rate that would make you think George W. Bush was their president. Japan is thrown into unrest and children are ignoring the rules, choosing to boycott school and attacking adults. The government decides to pass the Millennial Reform School Act or the Battle Royale Act in which a randomly chosen class of junior high school students are issued weapons (some guns and in some cases pathetic weapons like a stainless steel pot lid) and forced to play a survival game to distract the distraught and apathetic population-hmm…sounds like a familiar tactic?!
The children from Class B of Zentsuji Middle School have been chosen to play in the latest game, but the funny thing is, despite the notoriety, no child seems prepared to play, nor do they have a clue what the game is even about. In addition, they are joined in the game by two transfer students, Kiwada and Kiriyama, who are significantly older and are there specifically to kill the students. Their former teacher, Kitano, is the referee for the game and immediately kills two unruly students (a teacher’s dream) before the game even starts. The children are then shown a video about the game and their objectives narrated by a chipper woman who gleefully explains the rules of combat.
Basically, this is Lord of the Flies meets Survivor. The 40 students chosen to play the game must kill each other by any means until only one remains within a 72-hour period. If there is more than one person alive by that time, electronic collars around the students’ necks will kill them all. In addition, certain danger zones will be activated in the game and students inside those zones will be killed if they do not get out in a certain amount of time.
That's where all the similarities between the movie and the manga end. This movie has received critical acclaim from fans, calling it a cult hit. They are lying! I can’t stand people who don’t understand that not every piece of media from Japan or anywhere has to ALWAYS be good! (ASIDE: While we’re on the subject, Ringu also sucked and the American version was better!) Ah, I feel much better now, back to the review…
There was also no character development in this film. The manga succeeds because the characters were given life before they had it taken away. We felt for the characters, even those we only briefly knew, because they were so fleshed out. Not here. Many are killed within seconds. Shuuya’s relationship with Noriko and their friendship/mistrust with Kiwada are never given enough time to allow the viewer to be shocked by any of what occurs. We don’t see the full cunning of the film’s villain, Kiriyama, which makes the manga so intriguing. Watching this film made me realize that Battle Royale would be much better served if done as a weekly series by someone who treated the show with the respect and seriousness it deserves!
Some may say the film is a parody of the competitive nature of students in Japanese schools, or perhaps as a parody of Japan’s actions as a brutal imperial power-all I know is that this movie was a big waste of time with no redeeming value.
After reading the manga, I expected something with substance. Instead, I got a film that really had no business being made. Like my teachers used to tell me, go back and do it again and don’t bother bringing it back until you get it done right. Maybe we can put the creators of the movie on an island and have them kill each other off, so they don’t make another piece of garbage like this one. Too late. A sequel has been made!
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