Battle Royale Movie Review – Where I Lose My Street Cred

There is no reason why you shouldn't know the plot of "Battle Royale," so let's just gloss over it, okay? A class of teenage students learn that there are the newest group picked for Battle Royale, which is a battle to the death. It's a way for Japan to protect itself by weeding out the weak. The students must fight until only one person remains standing.

They each receive a bag filled with supplies before being sent into the wilderness of a remote island. While some students find themselves armed with grenades, crossbows, or guns, others discover a pair of binoculars or a pot lid tucked inside. When two classmates decide to team up because of the crushes they had on each other before the competition, they enlist the help of yet another student, though they all know that only one person can walk away free.

Let me share my "Battle Royale" story. I had a "thing" with a guy a few years ago who absolutely loved this movie. Needless to say, once I sat down to watch it, I had to figure out a way to tell him that I really didn't like it. I walked away from the movie wondering why so many people loved it because in my mind, I was actually a little bored.

Cut to a few months ago when I was talking about "The Hunger Games" and how it was clearly a ripoff of this movie to a friend. He, a big time horror movie fan, had never heard of it before. I then discovered that my boyfriend had never seen it either. While wandering through Family Video, he picked it up and decided to rent it, despite me whining and complaining in the middle of the store.

Was it as bad as I remember? Actually, not at all. Will I be adding it to my list of favorite horror movies or movies in general? Not a chance. "Battle Royale" wasn't nearly as long and dull as I thought it was the first time I watched it. It actually has some of the greatest death/murder scenes from any film over the last ten years or so. While it might not necessarily be the best death of the film, my favorite death comes when a girl stabs another boy to death (starting in the nuts) after she repeatedly tells him to leave her alone.

I'm also a little shocked by Suzanne Collins, who still maintains that she never heard of the movie or the book before working on "The Hunger Games." Look lady, one similarity might be forgivable, but this is just ridiculous! What would you say if I told you that I just watched a movie about teens forced to kill each other, given survival items on a rolling cart, and two teens hide out together in a cave while they start having feelings for each other? Yeah, that isn't "The Hunger Games," that's "Battle Royale."