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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

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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Matty D Battle Royale is the prime example of an absolute perfect action horror film. Filmed in the year 2000 and based on the 1996 novel of the same name, Battle Royale came out long before series like The Hunger Games, The Purge, and other “royale”-type of movie. Setting itself up with the difficult task of maintaining a cast that includes nearly four dozen characters, Battle Royale has well-rounded teens who you root for their survival. It maintains a sense of drama and suspense throughout its sprawling two hours runtime, without missing any attention to detail for a single one of the students’ deaths. The cast is spectacular across the board in their committed performances, with some having earned recognition by the Japanese Oscars for their work. Although the film differs from the also sprawling novel, it does a fine job of adapting the material without too many omissions to fit a time limit for most attention spans. While I feel young people would benefit from seeing this film, I do recommend caution for younger viewers as this is any incredibly violent and brutal movie. Overall, if you are a fan of foreign horror or action films, be sure not to miss the legendary gem! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/02/25 Full Review meiji r Boring.............. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 06/28/25 Full Review Marcus U Battle Royale is a movie about 42 9th graders who get sent to a deserted island to kill each other. The goal is to be the last one standing. They are given necessities such as food, water, weapons, and a map. The kids have an explosive collar on their neck that explodes when they disobey a rule. I enjoyed it because it's a plot based on teenagers that is filled with tense moments and drama. It wasn't afraid to include violent, gory, and intense action-packed scenes. A lot of the time it showed and made you think of themes like companionship, survival, and morals. Battle Royale showed how the primal, animalistic instincts can kick in for one to survive the rest of the people in the same mindset. If you can withstand the violence, I reccomend this movie. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 05/20/25 Full Review Adrianna S Battle Royale was difficult for me to watch considering the gore and the violence. It showed the true instincts of humans when the choice becomes “kill or be killed.” In a way it reminded me of the very popular Hunger Games and Squid Games. It was very violent for me and I did not like seeing so many kids involved. It was very extreme with a lot of blood and harsh violence. I would not recommend this move to watch. I felt the movie did not spend time having the audience get to know the characters before the action. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 05/20/25 Full Review Haley R This movie was very intense, thought provoking and interesting to witness. Battle Royale explores themes of survival, friendship, societal control, violence and exploitation. This movie definitely serves as a commentary on how the governments potential to exploit and control their citizens, particular the youth. It also explores the sea of generational conflict that makes the movie very intense. I really liked the way this movie was filmed and the cinematography of it all. I would definitely recommend this movie to anyone as I thoroughly enjoyed it. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 05/20/25 Full Review Diamond M Battle Royale is intense wild and kind of messed up, but in a really good way. The plot is simple but crazy: a class of high school kids is forced to fight to the death on an island, and only one can survive. It sounds brutal and it is but theres way more going on. The movie dives into fear, friendship, betrayal, and survival. Some scenes are heartbreaking, others are just plain shocking. The action is fast, the characters are interesting, and it keeps you on edge the whole time. Its violent for sure but its also smart and emotional. You really start to think about what you would do in that situation or at least i did. I give it a 4.5/ 5 stars because its not for the faint of heart but 100% worth watching. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 05/20/25 Full Review Read all reviews
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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
WOWOW, Toei Company, AM Associates, MF Pictures, GAGA, Kobi Co., Battle Royale Prod. Committee, Toho Company, Nippon Shuppan Hanbai (Nippan) K.K.
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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