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| Battle Royale II : Requiem |
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  (5/10)
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Runtime: 134 |
| Public Rating: 7.17 (18 votes) |
Director: Kenta Fukasaku / Kinji Fukasaku |
MPAA Rating:  |
| Genre: Action, War |
Year: 2003 |
| Writer(s): Kenta Fukasaku |
| Distributor: Toei Co. LTD |
| Reviewed by: Bill McCormick |
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The original Battle Royale was an excellent film. It incorporated intense action sequences, graphic violence and an underlying message that accurately portrayed human nature. Along with the novel by Koushun Takashi, it was widely controversial and had gained a reputation even before its original Japanese release date. Naturally a film of this magnitude would spawn a sequel, but could it live up to its predecessor? (note: if you have not seen Battle Royale and plan to, you may want to skip this review, as it may spoil certain elements of the film).
Battle Royale II begins three years after the first film. A terrorist group led by Shuya Nanahara and known as the Wild Seven has surfaced and is bent on bringing down the Government. One year after the terrorists claim responsibility for a Christmas Day bombing in Tokyo that leaves over 8,000 people dead, the Government implements the "New Century Terrorist Counter-Measure Alternative" aka the BR II act.
Forty-two students from Shikanotoride Junior High Class 3-B are selected to participate and are sent armed but unwilling into the terrorist terrain, with three days to kill Shuya Nanahara. One of the students may not be as unwilling as the others, with a mission of revenge.
The rules are fairly similar to those in the first Battle Royale, though there are a few key differences. The main object: kill or be killed, remains. As in the first movie, the students are equipped with neck collars that explode if they misbehave, breach the 3 day time limit or wander into any areas that are assigned as "danger zones". As a new "teamwork" plan, the students are assigned partners, who are responsible for their own fate, as well as that of their teammate. If one dies, the other dies.
Where Battle Royale was more of a survival film, BR:II is a war film. The students arrive on the terrorist island as if it were the Battle of Normandy (similar to the opening sequence of Saving Private Ryan) and only a small group make it off the beaches. They all begin to die rather quickly and unlike the first film, the pacing is too quick for the viewer to get to know any of the major players.
When introduced, Shuya exhibits minimal amounts of the energy and drive that made his character so likable in the first movie, and because of this the film suffers. Riki Takeuchi isn't nearly as interesting as Kitano and when he's not popping pills throughout his sequences, he's easily forgettable. Those expecting to see more of Noriko will be left unsatisfied through most of the movie, but flashbacks of Kitano and a brief cameo by Sonny Chiba (Hattori Hanzo in Kill Bill Vol. 1) as Shinji Mimura's uncle are great scenes.
On its own merits Battle Royale II, is a decent movie, though it doesn't live up to its predecessor. The action is on par with that of the first film, but the character development and attachment to the new students is lacking. We're just not given enough to really want to see these kids or even Shuya make it. Don't go out of your way to skip this movie because it is an interesting film, but don't expect too much either.
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