Many spoilers lie here in.
I was a big fan of Battle Royale - so much so that i read the book it was based on and it is now my favorite book of all time, anybody who hasn't read it should. It goes into much more detail on virtually every kid on the island, and the whole point of the story - why Battle Royale takes place - is completely different and incredibly more profound. It is 1984 meets Lord of the Flies - it is amazing.
So with that said - i went into watching Battle Royale 2 with high hopes and was severely let down. I didn't dislike this movie because it was so different than the first - I knew in the onset it would be. I really liked the concept of taking a class and sending them after Shuya just to screw with him. The sort of government portrayed in the first movie would do something just like that. I really enjoyed the scene with the white line - i liked the concept of them getting to chose - added a whole new level on vileness to Battle Royale. I had no problem with how quickly the kids got wasted, the way the story was set up it made perfect sense. And i liked that the daughter of the teacher from the first movie was out for blood - because she had hated her father and that was really an interesting side plot in this one. In fact i was enjoying this movie up until one point. That is when they were captured by Shuya's crew.
At this point the movie completely lost all focus - to the point of making almost no sense at all.
Before i get into the problems with the ploy i have one film making complaint. The whole storming the beach scene was far too reminiscent of Saving Private Ryan, from the camera angels, to the washed out color, to the jerky camera. It felt way to derived. I wouldn't have had a problem with it had that not been the only place in the movie it was done. As a result it stuck out like a sore thumb. I'm sure this could have been done in a much more original way.
now the plot
First of all - why would they hold up on an island where they would just be sitting ducks? The logic is just not there at all.
Second, I'm sorry I know this isn't Battle Royale 1, but the character of Shuya as portrayed in the movie and book would NEVER have taken thousands of innocent lives. That is not fighting for what you believe at any cost - that is just genocidal. The Shuya in the first movie and in this one were two very different characters. I know that what happened to him would have changed him - but it wouldn't have changed him into a homicidal lunatic. I found myself feeling no sympathy for him at all. It wasn't the adults who let this happen, it was a corrupt government. This whole kids vs. adults theme just became silly and contrived and after awhile didn't even make much sense.
Third - the teacher this time was INCREDIBLY overacted. That was one of the worst performances i have ever seen. And again, the scene where he shows up in the end in a rugby uniform, made absolutely no sense, and just came off as comical. And the whole bit with him having a collar? What? Who else missed something there?
Fourth - i found the digs at the US didn't fit into the plot at all. i know that many countries around the world don't have high opinions of us Americans, and i have no problem with that - from their perspective it is very justified. In the beginning when the teacher made that list of countries at first i thought that this could turn out to be a really interesting plot. But it went no where. They never explained its relevance to Battle Royale or what was going on in Japan. And in the end when they were going to attack Japan just because of what Shuya said - it made even less sense, and had even less to do with the plot. They further went on to suggest that somehow Battle Royale was in part the fault of the US because Japan sat by and let the US do whatever they wanted - this again made no sense.
Fifth and final - even though there are many more complaints ill leave it here. Already i said why would they go to and island and corner themselves, but why would they then refuse to leave? If they really want to make a difference what good are they all going to dead? This follows no logic at all.
This movie had a lot of potential, but out of no where it was like the movie forgot what it was about.
Now i know that in Japanese cinema there is a lot placed on the subtext of a movie and to the symbolism as well, maybe being American i just don't get it, I'm willing to concede that as a possibility. Like the movie Suicide club, i didn't get it at all, but i couldn't say its a bad movie, i just realize that i cant fully understand a lot of its symbolism and imagery, the societal translation is just lacking. But BR2 is a bit different. I felt i understood exactly what it was trying to get at - but it just lost all its balance.
Well that's that. Sorry i through around "made no sense" a lot - but i cant really think of any other way to really put most of the problems in this movie.
I was a big fan of Battle Royale - so much so that i read the book it was based on and it is now my favorite book of all time, anybody who hasn't read it should. It goes into much more detail on virtually every kid on the island, and the whole point of the story - why Battle Royale takes place - is completely different and incredibly more profound. It is 1984 meets Lord of the Flies - it is amazing.
So with that said - i went into watching Battle Royale 2 with high hopes and was severely let down. I didn't dislike this movie because it was so different than the first - I knew in the onset it would be. I really liked the concept of taking a class and sending them after Shuya just to screw with him. The sort of government portrayed in the first movie would do something just like that. I really enjoyed the scene with the white line - i liked the concept of them getting to chose - added a whole new level on vileness to Battle Royale. I had no problem with how quickly the kids got wasted, the way the story was set up it made perfect sense. And i liked that the daughter of the teacher from the first movie was out for blood - because she had hated her father and that was really an interesting side plot in this one. In fact i was enjoying this movie up until one point. That is when they were captured by Shuya's crew.
At this point the movie completely lost all focus - to the point of making almost no sense at all.
Before i get into the problems with the ploy i have one film making complaint. The whole storming the beach scene was far too reminiscent of Saving Private Ryan, from the camera angels, to the washed out color, to the jerky camera. It felt way to derived. I wouldn't have had a problem with it had that not been the only place in the movie it was done. As a result it stuck out like a sore thumb. I'm sure this could have been done in a much more original way.
now the plot
First of all - why would they hold up on an island where they would just be sitting ducks? The logic is just not there at all.
Second, I'm sorry I know this isn't Battle Royale 1, but the character of Shuya as portrayed in the movie and book would NEVER have taken thousands of innocent lives. That is not fighting for what you believe at any cost - that is just genocidal. The Shuya in the first movie and in this one were two very different characters. I know that what happened to him would have changed him - but it wouldn't have changed him into a homicidal lunatic. I found myself feeling no sympathy for him at all. It wasn't the adults who let this happen, it was a corrupt government. This whole kids vs. adults theme just became silly and contrived and after awhile didn't even make much sense.
Third - the teacher this time was INCREDIBLY overacted. That was one of the worst performances i have ever seen. And again, the scene where he shows up in the end in a rugby uniform, made absolutely no sense, and just came off as comical. And the whole bit with him having a collar? What? Who else missed something there?
Fourth - i found the digs at the US didn't fit into the plot at all. i know that many countries around the world don't have high opinions of us Americans, and i have no problem with that - from their perspective it is very justified. In the beginning when the teacher made that list of countries at first i thought that this could turn out to be a really interesting plot. But it went no where. They never explained its relevance to Battle Royale or what was going on in Japan. And in the end when they were going to attack Japan just because of what Shuya said - it made even less sense, and had even less to do with the plot. They further went on to suggest that somehow Battle Royale was in part the fault of the US because Japan sat by and let the US do whatever they wanted - this again made no sense.
Fifth and final - even though there are many more complaints ill leave it here. Already i said why would they go to and island and corner themselves, but why would they then refuse to leave? If they really want to make a difference what good are they all going to dead? This follows no logic at all.
This movie had a lot of potential, but out of no where it was like the movie forgot what it was about.
Now i know that in Japanese cinema there is a lot placed on the subtext of a movie and to the symbolism as well, maybe being American i just don't get it, I'm willing to concede that as a possibility. Like the movie Suicide club, i didn't get it at all, but i couldn't say its a bad movie, i just realize that i cant fully understand a lot of its symbolism and imagery, the societal translation is just lacking. But BR2 is a bit different. I felt i understood exactly what it was trying to get at - but it just lost all its balance.
Well that's that. Sorry i through around "made no sense" a lot - but i cant really think of any other way to really put most of the problems in this movie.