It's easy to dismiss this film as some kind of glorified school student snuff film, but look under the surface and the movie is rich in it's themes.Much like "Lord of the Flies", Battle Royale is a coming of age film where the veneer of civilized society is brushed away to reveal the dark heart of human nature. Where it differs is that the school students are taken away from the comfort and protection of their school and thrown by their adult teachers into a last-man-standing fight to the death. This premise sets a symbolic metaphor for Battle Royale as the students' adult life - beyond the safety, protection and confines of school, and into the no-holds-barred world of adults.Without giving too much away, thematically Battle Royale covers the many ways in which the students attempt to deal with the stark reality of life - where friendships and trusts have been erased away, and where it is easier to kill and steal to get ahead than it is to work together against all odds. Yet predictably, and without spoiling too much, it is only through pure love for others that the remaining students manage to survive against all the other ones who have lost their soul.It's probably hard for western audiences to grasp the film, but seen in the native country and in the native language it is a powerful film. Japanese society is highly civilized and exceedingly polite. The idea of schoolchildren killing each other is about as polar opposite that Japanese culture can go.

I mean WHO!This movie looked to me as The power rangers that i LOVED at 8 years of age to find out how poor was the acting and the ''effects'' when i grew up..So i actually found this movie as the no.1 (LOL) most favorite movie in Quentin Tarantino's list.Then i found some good ratings so i gave it a shot....The movie is trying hard to make some drama or glorious scenes but its not good..Really poor acting ...I dunno just bad film

'BATTLE ROYALE' was directed by Kinji Fukashaku and stars Tatsuya Fujiwara, Aki Maeda and Taro Yamomato. ​42 9th graders are sent to a deserted island. They are given a map, food, and various weapons. An explosive collar is fitted around their neck. If they break a rule, the collar explodes. Their mission: kill each other and be the last one standing. The last survivor is allowed to leave the island. If there is more than one survivor, the collars explode and kill them all.I don't dislike this movie because I had to read subtitles. I'm not that childish. I just don't understand the acclaim this movie has received. Perhaps three solid performances and definitely a solid premise but, aside from that, I see little else to praise in this movie. Non of the characters are particularly interesting or likable and the plot is nonsensical and stupid.Expanding on that point, don't tell me I dislike this movie because I didn't understand the plot. It may have some Japanese cultural relevance that I am unaware of but until I find that out, I'm pretty damn sure I got the plot. And it is a stupid plot at that. I conceded the fact that the premise is interesting but the ridiculous plot and relationships between that characters they built around that is awful. The entire film hinges on the romance between Shuya(Fujiwara)and Noriko(Maeda) but I just didn't buy their romance. The simple fact I didn't like or empathise with either character did not help this movie either. Both Fujiwara and Maeda gave mediocre performances at best and where outshone both in performance and character by their co-stars.Taro Yamamoto gives one of the only good performances as Kawada, an ally to the two leads. Masanobu Ando gives the other decent performance as the antagonist in the arena. Arguments could be made for Takeshi Kitano also giving a solid performance but you see so little from him and get so little of his character that, at least for me, the jury is still out on him. These THREE people are the only thing that even remotely saves this movie for me. You may argue that I am being way too harsh on the movie considering I like both the premise and up to three of the performances were good and I would usually be inclined to agree. That said, when a movie fails to deliver on what it set out to do, I cannot give it pity points. This movie is supposed to be a sci-fi, but I would say nothing in it is particularly amazing or spectacular. It is also a thriller but I was never on the edge of my seat. It's not supposed to be an action movie but even that aspect of it was terrible. Attempts at comedy backfired. I cannot in good conscience recommend this movie. Mild entertainment at certain points saves it from complete disaster. And violence is not my concern. I was fine with it. It is everything else this movie offers up.I don't recommend you see this movie. I'll rate it a very disappointing(for me) 2 Efficient Dog Collars out of 10!

I usually come to IMDb and check a movies grade before watching it, to see if it is worth my time. A friend recommended this movies, and before giving it a try, I came to IMDb. Usually anything above 7 here is worth my time. NOT THIS TIME. DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME. From 20 minutes in you will be telling yourself every five minutes: it will get better, it will have some logic, it will have a turning point, it will start making sense, it will have some hidden moral lesson .... it will.... it will. Except it does not. Everything is completely predictable. No surprises. Terrible actors (and I love Asian actors), terrible plot. Clearly this was the inspiration for hunger games, and thats all the movie is worth watching for. Do not waste your time. To me its unbelievable this movie being over 7 on IMDb. Its one of the worst movies I have ever seen in my life, and I have seen it all. Not because of the violence, but because its horrible, has horrible actors, plot, development of characters, and its totally predictable. The script holds no surprises, no turning points, no moral behind it. In two words: total crap.