Violent to the extent! The movie Battle Royale is based on a best-selling novel, this story went onto the big screen year 2000. Though belated, this movie would still catch your attention when you find out the storyline. The setting of the movie is in near future in the land of Japan when the nation is close to economic fall down. Troubled with wavering financial system and rising unemployment figures, social status of the nation is also damaged. This happened due to boycotting of classes by high school students and rebellious act of aggression by the young people versus the adults. This mayhem made the government to pass the Millennium Educational Reform Act or BR Act. Under this law a yearly Battle Royale is held, wherein randomly chooses one class of junior high school students. This class would battle against each other to death in order for one of them to survive.
Class B of the chosen high school had a trip one ordinary morning heading to a remote island. Along the way they see numerous military soldiers. No wonder they still enjoyed the trip until everyone falls asleep. When they wake up its already late midnight, everybody is settled in a class room each with a metal necklace put on that can blow up their head because of a built-in bomb. Joining the class are Kawada, a second timer, and Kiriyama, who strangely just signed up for Battle Royale. There they meet up with their 7th grade teacher, Kitano (Japan’s well-known Takeshi Kitano), who is accompanied by a group armed soldiers. Afterward it is revealed to them why they are in that place. At first they thought that the BR Act that sets them there (via impartial lottery among schools) is some kind of a joke but when two of them were killed right before their eyes they knew it is for real. A video discussed the perverse mechanics followed by the sending of them, one by one, out in the land with a military bag containing bottled waters, bread, flashlight, compass, map and a weapon. Unreasonable distribution of weapon you are considered lucky if you get a gun or a bladed weapon. While for some they receive binoculars, pot metal lid and some kind of a GPRS locator. The time limit for the whole Battle Royale game is three whole days. After this if more than one person is still alive all of the necklaces will be detonated, everybody dies and no one wins.
Baffled students they don’t know what to do. Some kills because of fear that others might get them first. Few commit suicide just to avoid the fact that they need to fight each other to death in order for them to survive. Others peacefully joined force and stayed out of the line of murdering each other. Meanwhile some students hacked the tracking system of Kitano and his brigade so they can blow up their base. Shuya Nannahara (Tatsuya Fujiwara) along with Noriko Nakagawa (Aki Maeda) is one of those people who stayed out of the line and tries meeting the rest who wants nothing else but to escape this mess peacefully (without anymore deaths to count). Along their way they meet Kawada (Taro Yamamoto) the Battle Royale pro and later discover his sorrowing intention of being in the battlefield for the second time. Kiriyama (Masanobu Ando) the other stranger who joins the Class B conversely finds bliss on killing whoever comes his way. The time is running out, would there be anyone trustworthy of not planning a scheme against each other? Would they escape the hunting threat of opponents like Kiriyama? Filled with suspense this movie Battle Royale will give you a violent and foolish picture of surpassing each other since one’s own life is at stake.
Movie rating is for 15 years old and above, has an exceptional storyline, but basically it’s hard to think that this inhuman kind of game could be existed.
