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Battle Royale

Play trailer Poster for Battle Royale Released Dec 16, 2000 1h 54m Mystery & Thriller Action Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
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90% Tomatometer 50 Reviews 89% Popcornmeter 50,000+ Ratings
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.
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Battle Royale

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Critics Consensus

Battle Royale is a controversial and violent parable of adolescence, heightening teenage melodrama with life-or-death stakes.

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Critics Reviews

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Sara Stewart New York Post Stylistically it's a beauty, with khaki-uniformed waifs fighting for their lives to a crashing classical score. Rated: 3/4 May 25, 2012 Full Review A.O. Scott New York Times Awful deaths (and hysterical reactions to them) punctuate declarations of love and friendship, revelations of treachery and heavily armed expressions of angst. Rated: 3.5/5 May 24, 2012 Full Review Joshua Rothkopf Time Out Forgive the film its small flaws of histrionic performances and cheap execution for the giddy rush of its banal, Verhoevenesque atmosphere... Rated: 4/5 May 22, 2012 Full Review Panos Kotzathanasis Asian Movie Pulse Battle Royale” stands as a definite cult movie, from Takeshi Kitano's presence to the way it inspired Tarantino, to the violent portrayal of youth and sociopolitical criticism unfolds against a backdrop of dark humor and an evocative soundtrack. Rated: 8 Mar 3, 2024 Full Review Javier G. Trigales Espinof The "groundbreaking" premise of Battle Royale remains a good black comedy diversion that's more conventional than some wanted it to be. [Full review in Spanish] Rated: 3/5 Nov 27, 2023 Full Review Grant Watson Fiction Machine It is not simply satire, but social commentary; not simply a sensational over-the-top movie, but an important one as well. Rated: 9/10 Jun 29, 2023 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Felix G Bro, this movie is so bad. Why does it have such high rating? Rated 2 out of 5 stars 12/22/24 Full Review MG_Claymore C The great Japanese BATTLE ROYALE. Khaki clad waifus and boys battle each other to the death. Grisly kills, over the top reactions and lots of blood. drama too. its a must see. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 11/18/24 Full Review Clara Y A thrilling and thought-provoking film, masterfully blends survival horror with social commentary. Its exploration of morality and the lengths people go to survive offers a haunting and memorable cinematic experience. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 10/24/24 Full Review Jules N Violent et pertinent avec cette vision dystopique d'une société en décadence utilisant des moyens extrême pour résoudre ses problèmes, Battle Royale est très efficace dans sa mise en scène ainsi que dans sa BO qui permet bien de rendre le choc de certaines situations. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 09/22/24 Full Review Gorptholemew T 🍅 6.5/10 I mean, I didn’t know how they were going to approach the Fortnite movie but it’s kind of weird that they use teenagers like it be more realistic to use eight-year-olds. Pretty good movie. I watched the dubbed version because the original wasn’t an option so 🙁 it probably be a little bit better with the original audio. Still pretty solid and super dark with some pretty great characters. but I don’t know I just don’t dig it like others but I like it and I can see why people definitely love it. Grade B Rated 3 out of 5 stars 09/01/24 Full Review Nikolai O Pretty good. I think it would've been better if I hadn't watched it with the English dub but that was the only option they had. The characters were well-written, and I can definitely see how Quentin Tarantino was inspired by this movie. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 08/25/24 Full Review Read all reviews
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Battle Royale

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Movie Info

Synopsis 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.
Director
Kinji Fukasaku
Producer
Akio Kamatani, Tetsu Kayama, Masumi Okada, Masao Sato, Kenta Fukasaku, Kinji Fukasaku, Kimio Kataoka, Toshio Nabeshima, Chie Kobayashi
Screenwriter
Kenta Fukasaku
Production Co
GAGA, Battle Royale Prod. Committee, Kobi Co., Nippon Shuppan Hanbai (Nippan) K.K., WOWOW, MF Pictures, Toei Company, Toho Company, AM Associates
Genre
Mystery & Thriller, Action, Comedy
Original Language
Japanese
Release Date (Theaters)
Dec 16, 2000, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 30, 2016
Runtime
1h 54m
Sound Mix
Dolby Digital
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