Customer Reviews

Batlle Royal Survival,

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I really did. I was so mad that all reviews I read basically called this movie crap, and I found it hard to believe after the first one was so amazing. So I watched it last night, and I find myself right there with everyone else. The guy who plays the teacher (from the Dead or Alive trilogy) should stick to Miike movies cuz thats what hes good at...over-the top acting that doesn't work in a supposedly serious movies like this. The gore wasn't as shocking as the first one because it was almost all guns and the necklaces. it was very preachy and the over delivery of what it was trying to say made me feel like i was at church being told that i was going to burn in hell from the pastor. If you loved the first film you should see this just don't buy it. Oh, and the end of the battle scene left me highly confused...you'll c what I mean.

After B.R. the survivers set up an army against all adults. The next B.R. game is for a class to go kill them. Who do you root for? Justice, or the people who had no choice? Tough one eh? well be sure it's set to make for some good viewing. Not as good as number one but better than the reviews from other places say it is. Some great gun fights and some great scenes with the old exploding necklaces. So, in my opinion, rent, if you can, before you buy. Enjoy!

I was a big fan of the first one. Then saw this one, and now have soured on the whole franchise. Stupid, silly, irritating and unintentionally humorous -- especially that stupid Riki character.
We were booing the TV screen!

First of all, I don't know what everyone else is talking about. This was AWESOME! Obviously, they're the same people that gave the Lord of the Rings trilogy a C+ rating. but anyway, I thought this movie was awesome! It's not as violent as the first, I'll give them that, but it's violent enough and it has cool action scenes. It's just the continuation of the the first story. I'm interested in the storylines also, not just all violence. I do agree that one of the characters, riki i think his name was, did overact his character. it was kinda funny. but If your an avid foreign-movie watcher. You have to expect that japanese filming is different from the americans, so you might find some of the things that the japanese or chinese do as corny. but you should be able to look past that and just enjoy the movie. instead of overanalyzing every DETAIL of the movie. again, this is just a continuation of the first battle royale. If they wanted to make a movie as violent as the first. they would have to put in a different cast, but with the same storyline as the first. But that would be boring. unless, you like seeing just violence in your movies. do i know what i'm talking about? yes i do. democrats rule!

I actually switched off BR1 the first time through because I just didn't get it. But I saw Director Kinji Fukusaku's statement in the "Special Features" section, and decided to give that movie another chance after I read about his experience during an artillery shelling as a 15-year old near the end of the last world war. Fukusaku was a director of passion and integrity, so he always had something to add to his movies that went beyond the requisite marketing considerations.
Mr. Fukusaku was dying of bone cancer (not prostate cancer as Wikipee reports) and perhaps saw a way of leaving one last message to Japan in this final movie. Japan, and much of the rest of the world did respond. We are not meant to like it or even begin to understand it in this country.
I also hated BR2 on first viewing. But I suspected there must be something hidden there, so I poked around the net and found out more. Riki's overthetop performance, for example, is a cultural icon in Japan, so the viewers there would get it. Also the acting is reminiscent of Kabuki and Bunraku, so the stylized presentation would be much more comfortable to the intended audience. The facial and body expressions of many of the characters are meant to be more of a mask, and you can see their echoes of ghost and spirit movies in Japanese cinema.
It seems that Mr. Fukusaku and his crew intended that this film be more than simple entertainment. And if we Americans can simply dismiss the listing of all the countries that have been bombed, along with the 8 million (at least) victims of our foreign policy, then we are not meant to get it. I doubt we ever will, unless we are personal victims of an abusive family situation from which there is no escape, or perhaps Native American.
How odd it is to view a work that was not tailored to American sensibilities. How hard it is to attempt to empathize with those in this world who must endure the thoughtless abuse of power. Or does the situation become more real when we see how little say we have in the future of this country?
If you've bought into the rightness of might, then don't bother with this movie. But if you want to mull over the message from a great director who did more than simply appease the god of money, it is worth a second view.

the first one was way better this is more mellow id say the action is less and their is more talking but its still an alright movie.

The sequel to the controversial action film begins with a bang. Literally. Shuya and Noriko, the two survivors of BATTLE ROYALE have since formed Wild Seven, a terrorist organization who levels buildings in Tokyo in a chilling scene that recalls the crumbling of the World Trade Center.

Rather than pitting students against one another, the rules of BRII are designed to take down Wild Seven. The students of Shika-no-Toride are volunteered for this new battle. The 42 teens are divided into pairs, one boy and one girl. In order to ensure teamwork, their familiar collars are attuned to one another, meaning that if one of the pair is killed, the other will follow quickly. Their new assignment is to storm the island stronghold of Wild Seven and destroy them. The military intelligence behind this decision leaves a bit to be desired.

Among the group is Shiori (Ai Maeda), the daughter of Kitano--the teacher who lead the activities of the original BATTLE ROYALE. This time around it's the wild-eyed Riki Takeuchi who helps convince the kids that they need to participate. Tekeuchi's performance is the polar opposite of the cool cruel Beat Takeshi of the first film. Similarly, the politics of BRII are over-the-top and in-your-face. Takeuchi doesn't have much to say to the BRII students other than listing off 22 countries that have been bombed by the U.S. over the last 60 years (including Japan). And, when Shuya explains that he and Noriko left Japan for Afghanistan after they survived the first Battle Royale the message of U.S. aggression is hammered home even harder.

A major shift in tone and narrative occurs an hour into the film when the BRII brigade finally meets Shuya. The students suddenly seem to come down with a bad case of flashbacks and longwinded speeches taking BRII from an action film into an inaction film. Things pick up from time to time when the Japanese military is sent in to do the job that the kids couldn't handle but they don't fare much better.

BATTLE ROYALE II doesn't provide any sympathetic characters, pulse-raising action or heart-wrenching drama. It merely apes other war films and brings nothing to the table except for rampant half-baked anti-U.S. rhetoric. I'm all for calling out the U.S. on our dunderheaded foreign policy but BATTLE ROYALE II fails on this level even more spectacularly than every other.

I really liked the first one. It had an interesting story. This one started off just as good. Then the kids meet the terrorist and the story made little sense. Then it went South very fast.

Ironically the acting and special effects are better in this version.