Battle Royale II: Requiem
Battle Royale II: Requiem | |||||
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Japanese name | |||||
Kana | バトル・ロワイアルII 鎮魂歌 | ||||
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Directed by | |||||
Screenplay by |
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Based on | Battle Royale by Koushun Takami | ||||
Produced by |
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Starring |
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Cinematography | Junichi Fujisawa | ||||
Edited by | Hirohide Abe | ||||
Music by | Masamichi Amano | ||||
Production company | Fukasaku-gumi | ||||
Distributed by | Toei | ||||
Release dates |
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Running time | 133 minutes[1] | ||||
Country | Japan | ||||
Language | Japanese | ||||
Budget | $9 million | ||||
Box office | $14.9 million[2] |
Battle Royale II: Requiem (
Director Kinji Fukasaku, who helmed the first film, started production but died of
Battle Royale II: Requiem was theatrically released in Japan on July 2003, by Toei. In stark contrast to its predecessor, it drew negative reviews from critics[3] and grossed $14.9 million against a budget of $9 million, less than half of what the previous film grossed with double the budget. In 2009, an extended version, entitled Revenge, which runs 20 minutes longer than the theatrical cut, was released on DVD.[4] It included additional action, improved effects, slow motion shots, new score in several scenes, and a extended storyline.[5]
Plot
Three years after the events of the
Instead of being forced to kill each other, as in the old Battle Royale, the students are sent off to war and ordered to attack the Wild Seven's island hideout en masse and kill Shuya within 72 hours. Most of the students are not interested in being forced to avenge their families, but they are coerced to fight through exploding metal collars, which their captors can detonate by remote control. The students are put into "pairs"; if one student dies, then his or her partner will be killed via collar detonation. Takeuchi shows them a line in the caged classroom: those who wish to participate are instructed to cross the line, while those who refuse to participate will face consequences. All students but one agree to participate. The one student who did not agree was shot in the leg and killed by the schoolteacher. His partner is then killed by her collar detonating.
The students are sent via boats onto the island base of the Wild Seven. A number of them are killed when they are bombed, shot, or have their collars detonated during the journey, leaving only a cluster alive. Two of the survivors are a delinquent, Takuma Aoi; and Shiori Kitano, the daughter of the "teacher" of a Battle Royale program who was killed by Shuya three years previously. Taken into the Wild Seven's base, the surviving students' explosive collars are removed and they are encouraged to help the Wild Seven end the Battle Royale for good. While most of the survivors agree, Takuma and Shiori remain unconvinced.
On
The survivors of the base (including the surviving students, except Shiori) retreat to the mainland via a mine shaft while the war between the Wild Seven and the military occurs. Hearing the gunfire outside the tunnel, Takuma and two of his friends return to help in the fight. The combat takes numerous casualties on both sides, leaving Shuya, Takuma, and Shiori as the only remaining fighters. While they try to evacuate, Takeuchi appears and, after a brief personal exchange, allows the group to flee as he sacrifices himself.
Outside Wild Seven's base, the combat starts again and Shiori is mortally wounded by gunfire. Before she dies in Shuya's arms, she reveals herself as Kitano's daughter and seemingly forgives him for his past crimes. Shuya and Takuma run out to kill the rest of the soldiers while the U.S. bombardment begins. The program then ends on a voided status, listing the fates of Shuya and the surviving students as unknown. Three months later, Shuya and Takuma rejoin the other survivors, including Noriko Nakagawa, in Afghanistan. They have regrouped as friends, and what lies next for them remains unknown.
Cast
- Tatsuya Fujiwara as Shuya Nanahara
- Ai Maeda as Shiori Kitano
- Shugo Oshinari as Takuma Aoi
- Ayana Sakai as Nao Asakura
- Haruka Suenaga as Haruka Kuze
- Yuma Ishigaki as Mitsugu Sakai
- Miyuki Kanbe as Kyoko Kakei
- Nana Yanagisawa as Mayu Hasuda
- Masaya Kikawada as Shintaro Makimura
- Yōko Maki as Maki Souda
- Yuki Ito as Ryo Kurosawa
- Natsuki Kato as Saki Sakurai
- Aki Maeda as Noriko Nakagawa
- Riki Takeuchi as Riki Takeuchi
- Sonny Chiba as Makio Mimura (Shinji's revolutionary uncle)
- Ai Iwamura as Mai
- Mika Kikuchi as Ayane Yagi
- Beat Takeshi Kitanoas Kitano
- Yoshiko Mita as Takuma's Mother
- Nanami Ohta as Hitoe Takeuchi
- Takeru Shibaki as Shugo Urabe
- Toshiyuki Toyonaga as Shota Hikasa
- Masahiko Tsugawa as The Prime Minister
Production
Kenta Fukasaku said that he viewed his task as finishing his deceased father's movie instead of as directing his first creation; the son credits the film as his father's. Kenta Fukasaku desired a lot of controversy and outrage for the sequel, adding that "the more strongly people react, the better."[6] The film was mainly shot on Hashima Island ("Battleship Island").
Reception
Requiem received generally negative reviews from film critics. The film received a rating of 30% at Rotten Tomatoes based on 10 reviews, and an average rating of 5.4/10. Many of the reviewers criticized the film for being inferior to the original, having a contrived, confusing plot line, its controversial, provocative sentiments, and generally bad acting.[3]
Ilya Garger of
Music
The sequel's soundtrack has more original work by
The song from the opening credits is "
The end title song is by the Japanese punk band Stance Punks. The song "Mayonaka Shounen Totsugeki Dan" features on their first full-length, self-titled album.
Books
The book The Road to BRII (
Related manga
A manga series called
References
- ^ "BATTLE ROYALE II – REQUIEM (18)". British Board of Film Classification. 16 March 2004. Retrieved 3 February 2013.
- ^ "Battle Royale II (2003)". Box Office Mojo.
- ^ a b "Batoru rowaiaru II: Chinkonka (Battle Royale II)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
- ^ "Number 19: Battle Royale 2 – Revenge Cut". Movie-Censorship.com.
- ^ "Battle Royale 2". Movie-Censorship.com.
- ^ a b c Garger, Ilya. "Royale Terror" (). Time. 30 June 2003.
- ^ Russell, Jamie (18 May 2004). "Battle Royale II: Requiem (2004)". BBC. Retrieved 26 March 2012.
- ^ "battleroyalefilm.com". battleroyalefilm.com. 21 December 2003. Retrieved 20 September 2012.
Notes
- ^ Kinji Fukasaku was the film's original director, but he died of prostate cancer on January 12, 2003, having directed only one scene for the film. Despite this, he remained credited with his replacement and son Kenta Fukasaku.