Battle Royale is Here!

It’s hard to review “Battle Royale” if you’ve already seen “The Hunger Games.” They’re both completely different movies but contain the same central plot point of teenagers fighting to the death. Hunger Games just becomes a nagging idea in the back of your mind as young blood spatters across the jungle. Beyond that though, they really don’t have anything in common. In fact they’re so different you really can’t say that one is better than the other. It’s like comparing boobs and butts.

The back story of Royale has something to do with teenager crime running amuck and the adult solve this problem by making an example of a random class. It’s about as believeable as Hunger Games, but doesn’t spend nearly as much time explaining itself. There is some set up with the characters Royale will focus on the most, which gives away who will live by the end, but it dives into the carnage much faster than Games. Even though most of the kids in Royale are never really flushed out as characters, they are given enough dialogue so you can gain a decent grasp of who they are. This allows a stronger emotional reaction when somebody gets killed off. Hunger Games just tried to put cute faces on some of their victims and hoped it was enough. Royale does a better job walking a fine line between character and bloodshed, but just isn’t nearly as deep as Games. Your preference really just comes done to your tastes. Action/horror film types will probably like Royale more, but the romantic comedy/chick flick types will like Games more. Like I said, boobs and butts.

“Battle Royale” is a fine Japanese film, regardless of how you might compare it to “The Hunger Games”. The camera and lighting is a little low budget, but that might have been done on purpose for an attempt at realism. The film attempts to be coldblooded much of the time, but some surreal moments take you out of the experience for a few minutes. The film also feels a little long for what it is. The piles of bodies get a little too high and you start hoping the movie just comes to an end. The ending itself it also strangely structured. It’s not bad, but it might make you tilt your head. I think they’re trying to say something, but it might have gotten lost in translation. Pacing is Royale’s only real problem, and everything else can be written off as a minor grip. I still had a good time with this film, and most people who thought “The Hunger Games” was too chick heavy will probably like it too. My only personal issue with Royale is that it is Japanese. Because of this, it has plenty of young girls but no real boobs or butts to be found.

Also, in a shameless plug to myself, check out Bruce Osborne on Facebook. I post/link all my stuff there, including chapters on a book I’m working on. Feel free to hit the ‘Like’ button as if you’re an addict.

I also write publish works of fiction on my Bruce Osborne Blog. Feel free to read, follow, or even hate my stuff. I don’t care if people like it, only that they read it.

There are too many movies for me to review in full, so I created a twitter account to give brief opinions on the many movies I view. If you wish to read my smart ass remarks, follow M.O.V.I.E. Reviewer @MutantOpossum.

Battle Royale 24×36… adamrabalais $45.00	BATTLE ROYALE Origi… guiltycubicle $15.00	El Battle Royale: L… comradescalaca… $58.00	Battle Royale 1 Inc… CactusMafia $4.00
Battle Royale shirt… Treejailed $20.00	1.25″ Pin Back… BishoujoButton… $1.69	Battle Royale Horro… KillerKitty $21.00	Battle Royale 2 1/4… CactusMafia $2.00

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