Battle Royal is a movie that is not for the feint of heart, it is brutal and it is violent but the themes it presents is a great back drop to the carnage that ensues on screen. Battle Royal is set in Japan during the nineties, where something bad has happened and the world has for the most part fallen apart. The government passes the BR act, which takes a randomly selected group of ninth grade students and pits them death match style against one another. These teens are thrust onto this island where it's kill or be killed, the last man/women standing wins their life back. Now if this wasn't bad enough, they all are fitted with a explosive dog collar that will go boom if they wander into the red areas or the time limit has been reached. What makes this movie so powerful and disturbing for some is how fast some of the students change and how some of the already bad apples become a more twisted version of their original self. The acting is top notch in this film which surprised the hell out of me, the one (evil) old man was terrifying especially his relation to the class makes him even more sadistic. However it is the kids that are on the main stage in this flick, and they are all strong actors in my opinion. It is good to see that teenagers can prove to be strong actors, especially in this type of hard movie. The sets, music, and mood of this piece are all top notch and provide almost a lonely feel to the whole picture. Almost adding another layer of hopelessness into the mix. It deals with some many issues that one would think it would flounder on one, but that is not the case. This is a great movie for foreign cinema lovers, and people who love all things Japanese. This movie isn't available in North America yet, none of the companies thought I movie like this could sell. I don't really understand that thinking as these same companies are constantly releasing garbage on a daily basis. I believe however that it is finally making it's way over here in the next little bit.
8/10
+Strong Plot and Characters
+Very good acting
+Music & Locals
-Could be difficult for some to watch
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