BATTLE ROYALE II: REQUIEM (2003)

Sequels. Before we go any further, let’s establish an understanding here. Sequels, and especially those of great movies, hardly ever have the impact of their predecessors. There are, of course, exceptions, from ‘Day of the Dead’ to ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ or ‘Aliens’, but there are countless examples of sequels that are simply not good enough to bear the title of their forerunners. Upon its release in 2000, the incredible ‘Battle Royale’ shocked viewers around the globe who were unprepared for its uncompromising storyline and graphic violence, and unsurprisingly it became a cult classic. Thus, a second chapter was both expected and in some quarters, demanded, and in approaching ‘Battle Royale 2: Requiem’ I was dually wary of both my own high hopes and the huge potential for disappointment.

‘Requiem’ begins with the destruction of two skyscrapers (strikingly similar to the Twin Towers) by the terrorist group ‘Wild Seven’. Their leader is none other than Nanahara (Fujiwara Tatsuya), survivor of the prequel’s massacre, and his group have gone to ground on a remote Pacific island after declaring war on all adults. Under pressure from the USA, the Japanese Prime Minister has recently passed the Millennium Anti-Terrorist Act (or BRII) and implements it to requisition a new group of schoolchildren to end the terrorist threat. Thus, a more contemporary foreign perspective augments the domestic critique of Japanese society inherent within the original.
Philosophical developments aside, the opening forty minutes or so of ‘Requiem’ is very similar to ‘Battle Royale’ in both structure and tone, as we witness a group of terrified teenagers being abducted by the military and forced into taking part in the operation. The rules are changed to a mixed gender tag team format and the fate of one depends on the other. This is graphically illustrated when Teacher Riki shoots one of their number and the victim’s teammate also bites the dust when her collar spontaneously detonates. Upon completion of their briefing, the student soldiers are kitted out and storm the terrorist island in an explosive sequence. However, it seems a little tame in comparison to the arguably blatant source of inspiration, the opening of Spielberg’s ‘Saving Private Ryan’, and as a result the intensity of the beach landing is slightly negated.

Bought with the loss of half their number, the students establish a beachhead and begin their advance on Nanahara’s hideout. However, the terrorist leader notices the Battle Royale symbol on their uniforms through his sniper scope and orders his troops to ceasefire. The film then enters a strange half hour or so (indeed, it seemed much longer) as the ‘Wild Seven’ attempt to assimilate the newcomers into their ranks without any aid from the scriptwriters whatsoever. So, rather than the naive yet poignant exchanges between young people trying to kill each other to survive (if you’ve seen the original, you’ll understand), ‘Requiem’ gives us cheesy speeches and clichéd tough talking. Perhaps the most farcical moment comes towards the end when Teacher Riki, outfitted with rugby kit and ball, tells the survivors; ‘I always wanted to play rugby with you guys’ before touching down to score as his neck collar explodes. If it were a scene from a Beat Takeshi or Takeshi Miike movie it might work, but not here.
‘Battle Royale 2’ also suffers from Takeshi’s absence, missing the nonchalant brutality he brought in abundance to the first movie. This wouldn’t have been a setback if his role were filled by a more enigmatic actor than his replacement but instead of the calm, chilling irony of Teacher Kitano, we have Teacher Riki; one-dimensional and overacted. Also, instead of utilising latex based effects as in the first movie, ‘Requiem’ uses C.G.I. for most of the gore, explosions, shootings and destructing neck collars. Sadly the graphics look far from cutting edge and the result being that some scenes, such as the one in which the first student loses her head, look a little cheap.

Yet despite the above criticisms, it is still a film with some excellent moments that are well worth watching for. Credit is due to the late Fukasaku Snr. and his son Kenta (who inherited the directorial reigns following his father’s untimely death) for the tone and style of the film that is, on occasion, first rate. Some of the gun battles in the latter half of the movie featuring Special Force units storming the island are superb, as is the cinematography and soundtrack. However, at a running time of two hours seven minutes, the picture is arguably thirty or so minutes too long and it’s irritating that much of that time is taken up with poorly scripted dialogues, as mentioned above. In closing, I’ll sum it up with a brief comment I can’t claim it as my own, but it seems very apt: ‘Royale with cheese’.

Score

6 / 10