Review of Battle Royale (2000) by Fergus L — 02 Apr 2014

I read the book before watching this film and I was really looking forward to it but it was quite a downfall for me. While I acknowledge what the film tries to be, it just does not get there. The source material is too loosley based upon and so therefore the story is changed dramtically.

The actor who played Shuya is too sqeaky so you get annoyed with him quickly. The casting of Kazuo was done wrong as well, I expected him to be a lot more calmer, not the psychopath he is portrayed to be.

There wasn't enough character development in Shogo so I didn't feel that 'awesome' connection with him that I did in the book. The runtime was a massive disapointment as well. The film was less than two hours and I felt there was a lot of cut corners.

I think that it should have been extended to two and a half hours, there is just so much content in the book that could and should have been in the film. The pacing is wrong as well, thirty minutes felt like ten.

In the end, it is a decent film to see once and leave it at that.