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FIRST A BIT
OF A RANT...
"Is Hulk
Hogan in it?" That was one of the answers given when I asked
people if they'd seen Battle Royale. I know it's a joke, but it's
a crap one and there's just no excuse for it. If you want to get
to the actual review you'd best skip to the next
bit because this one's pretty much just gonna be me venting
my spleen. And it's all because of people talking when you're
trying to watch a film. I'm not completely against talking in
films. Not the relevant stuff. I'm on about the inane babbling
that spews forth from some people's mouths as they watch a film.
The type of rubbish spoken varies from film to film but for Battle
Royale it's machismo. It's macho bullshit. Battle Royale requires
a bit of thought and empathy on the viewer's part to enjoy it.
It's about a class of kids who are forced to kill each other in
a bid for survival. That's some heavy shit to be dealing with.
How would you feel if when you were in school you were suddenly
told you had to kill all these people you'd bonded with over the
years so that you could survive? I'm not saying you need to analyze
every bit of subject matter and every little movement of the actors.
I'm just saying that you need to grasp the fact the characters
are friends and aren't exactly comfortable with the idea of busting
a cap in each other's asses. Is that too much to ask? Apparently
the answer for some people is yes. Yes it is too much to ask.
Instead of just shutting up and watching the film they have to
prove their hardness throughout the movie because they ain't sissies,
they're manly men. They're too tough get a little emotional or
let themselves get scared by a horror movie. When two boys meet
and are torn between friendship and survival this person will
confidently say "Why's he talking to him? I'd fucking kill
him. I'd shoot him in the head and nick his gun". Alternatively,
should one of the boys meet a girl, the proclamation will change
to "He should shag her then kill her. I would." Why
is there the need to say that? Do I really give a rat's ass? No
I don't give a rat's ass and nor do I want to whip my pecker out
and see who's got the fattest cock. Films are for watching. They
are not there for people to announce how big and manly they are
and how they'd happily kill all their school friends after giving
all the girls some serious dick. It's really annoying. Or maybe
I'm just being a big girl's blouse that has no knowledge of my
gender's psyche and I spend all my time hiding behind my mother's
skirts. I don't know. All I know is that I wish that some people
would just shut up during a film unless they have something to
say that resembles a point. It's not like I'm asking for the moon
on a stick is it? Well, I feel a bit better now. I apologise to
anyone that may have been offended by my colourful language. It's
just one of my pet peeves and it really gets my goat.
AND
NOW FOR THE REVIEW…
"At the
dawn of the millennium, the nation collapsed. At 15% unemployment,
10 million were out of work, 800, 000 students boycotted school,
and juvenile crime rates soared. The adults lost confidence, and
fearing the youth eventually passed the Millenium Educational
Reform Act. AKA: the BR Act".
A helicopter
flies overhead. Cameras film it. A jeep appears. More cameras.
News reporters flock to the jeep. They look inside. A young girl
is sat in the middle. She's covered with blood and clutches a
doll to her chest. She looks at the camera…she smiles. She
is the winner of the latest Battle Royale.
And that's how
the film begins. And what a film it is. Shockingly, this is a
film I didn't first see on Channel 4. I rented it. I didn't expect
much. From what I'd heard about it I figured it was another film
where people killed other people in a variety of different and
increasingly messy ways. Just your bog standard bang bang, shoot
'em up Schwarzenegger style kinda film. Naturally I was wrong
as I so often am.
When Class B
pile onto their schoolbus they think they're off on a wonderful
trip. But after seeing the introduction to this film we know that
isn't the case. Thanks to their unruly behaviour (including Nobu's
stabbing the teacher in the leg) they've been entered into the
latest Battle Royale.
The first thing
you'll notice is the film's radical take on teenagers. Yes that's
right, this is actually a film where teenagers are played by teenagers.
No twenty-somethings here, no sirree. No young men with chiselled
good looks and their unfeasibly attractive female classmates.
None of that toot here, oh no. But enough of my poor attempts
at sarcasm and on with the plot. The students are on their way
and having a bit of a laugh when they're rendered unconscious.
They awaken in a dark, rank and thoroughly scummy classroom. Enter
their former teacher. One Mr Kitano formerly of the slashed bum
fame. He explains to the kids the who's, the where's and the why's
of their situation. I'm sure there a few teachers out there who
found themselves rubbing their hands and thinking "if only"
at Kitano's way of getting kids to stop whispering. I know I would've
done. The kids are informed that if they do not kill each other
off in three days their collars will explode. Ah, the collars.
These necklaces of death don't just explode after three days.
As the days go by, more and more parts of the island become Danger
Zones. If a student enters one of these areas their collar will
explode. Oh yeah, a person's collar can also be set off should
they upset Kitano. Last of all, there are two transfer students
that have been added to the class. These mysterious characters
are Kawada and Kiriyama and their origins are a complete mystery.
All in all they're up shit creak in a smegma canoe.
Now my abysmal
plot synopsis is over I can get onto the meat and potatoes of
the thing. This is another of those films that I'll always like.
It's one of those films I can just slap on and watch. There isn't
a single point where I find my thumb moving to the fast forward
button. You know the type of film I'm on about. You can just sit
back, let it wash over you and not be bored for a single second.
You're just… entertained.
This is a brutal
film, there's no doubt about that. It's not the graphic nature
of it all. There's been a whole load of movies with more blood
and guts in 'em. It's brutal because we're watching kids kill
each other. And it's made worse still by the fact that these kids
were the best of friends but a few moments ago. Some of these
kids group together in their old cliques, some commit suicide
rather than kill their friends and others completely snap, attacking
anyone they see. Without wanting to sound too much of an arse,
it's the moral conflict that makes it what it so brutal and compelling.
Okay I do sound like an arse but it's true. There's also a streak
of dark humour running through the film which just adds to the
effect. One example is some of the weapons the kids find in their
backpacks. Another example, and it certainly made me chuckle,
was Kitano's attitude towards his cookies. Ain't no one getting
one of his cookies.
The hero and
heroine of this story are Shuya and Noriko. Their plan is to somehow
escape the island and run away together. The big question is how
are they going to do it? At the most they have three days before
beep go the collars and boom go their necks. As they set about
trying to attain their goal they can't help but run into a few
of their classmates and the transfers. Although they want to be
reunited with their friends they also dread it at the same time.
Given how they've been told to kill each other it's a worry that
I find more than justified.
But what's so
special about this version of the film. Well, if you're one of
those people that's a blatant whore for practically anything with
'Special Edition' tacked onto it, the snazzy tin box will catch
you right away. It did me. Curse my love of shiny things. Anyway,
if a tin box isn't enough to catch your whoring eye then the Film
Frame Card just may. But I'm kidding myself here, I know y'all
aren't as shallow and materialistic as yours truly so I'll just
talk about the film.
The film itself
has had a few extra bits spliced in. To be honest I didn't notice
them that much. The ending is a bit longer and there was one scene
that I did recognise as new. It concerns one of the girls and
gives us an incite into why she's that little bit more comfortable
with killing than her fellow classmates.
I've blabbed
on enough so I'll tie all this up now. Like Ring, this is a film
you MUST buy or at the very least see. Be it the normal edition
or this one. It's one of those films that everyone's gonna be
talking about.
- Charles
T. Awesome
DVD
EXTRAS
· Limited Edition Deluxe Presentation
· Poster Art Collector's Card
· Unique Collector's Film Frame Card
· 4-Page Information Booklet
· The Making of Battle Royale
· Battle Royale Press Conference
· Instructional Video: Birthday Version
· Audition and Rehearsal Footage
· Special Effects Comparison Featurette
· Tokyo International Film Festival 2000
· Battle Royale Documentary
· Basketball Scene Rehearsals
· Behind-the-Scenes Featurette
· Filming On-Set
· Original Theatrical Trailer
· Special Edition TV Spot
· TV Spot: Tarantino Version
· Director's Statement
· On-Screen Filmographies |
