Battle Royale (2000)
Battle Royale (2000) Image
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Metascore
81 out of 100

Universal acclaim - based on 7 Critics What's this?

User Score
8.1 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 56 Ratings

Your Score
0 out of 10
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  • Summary: Battle Royale is a violent epic about an innocent group of Junior High students forced by the government to hunt and kill their classmates for sport. (Anchor Bay Films)

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 7
  3. Negative: 1 out of 7
  1. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: A.O. Scott
    May 24, 2012
    90
    American fans of "The Hunger Games" may not embrace - or even be permitted to see - Battle Royale, which is too bad. It is in many ways a better movie and in any case a fascinating companion, drawn from a parallel cultural universe. It is a lot uglier and also, perversely, a lot more fun.
  2. Variety
    Reviewed by: Robert Koehler
    May 24, 2012
    90
    Departing from two decades' worth of domestic and personal dramas and returning to his roots as Japan's maestro of mayhem, Kinji Fukasaku has delivered a brutal punch to the collective solar plexus with one of his most outrageous and timely films.
  3. Time Out New York
    Reviewed by: Joshua Rothkopf
    May 22, 2012
    80
    Kinji Fukasaku's slick, sick nightmare is best left to the quasi-banned realm where it exists as a perfect satire; when brought into reality, it's a touch awkward.
  4. Slant Magazine
    Reviewed by: Chuck Bowen
    May 21, 2012
    38
    Maybe Battle Royale's ultimate punchline is its inexplicable ability to fool some people into taking it seriously.

See all 7 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 11
  3. Negative: 0 out of 11
  1. ofchughes
    10
    This is a great film by director Kinji Fukasaku. This is a must see for fans of Asian horror genre. The story is fantastic and shows how quickly the human condition can decay and decisions that sometimes have to be made to preserve your life.… Expand
  2. moonman1994
    8
    Bloody violent and exciting. It's extremely entertaining and will be an instant classic for anyone that it a fan of Asian horror/suspense films. A lot of people like to say that it's exactly like the Hunger Games but well it's not. Battle Royal focuses more on the psychology of making kids kill each other and less on the character development of it's leads. This is both a plus and a minus in my opinion. Yeah this movie is good and yes I would recommend it but to answer the question of "Is it better than Then Hunger Games" I'd say that completely depends on your taste in movies. They're both good films in my opinion but when you watch this film judge it as it's own film and don't try to compare it to the Hunger Games the entire time!… Expand
  3. ScrawnyPunk
    7
    If you are a fan of Asian action, horror, or sci-fi, this is on your "must" list. If you are merely a fan of dystopian fiction, then you should probably see it as well. If you are unaware of the plot, a quick view on Wikipedia will help you out. Basically, The Greatest Game meets 1984.

    This is WAY better than a certain unnamed American pretender...but not nearly as engaging as the book. I love me some Beat Takeshi, but his character felt a little wrong here. If you haven't read the book, do so it should take you a couple of hours at the most. But watch the movie first.    … Expand
  4. Sasa7
    4
    Neznam kako gledaoci i kriticari smatraju ovaj film pod "ozbiljnim" ?!? meni je ovo nalik na neku japansku parodiju i sprdačinu ..ko je pogledao film,nadam se da ce shvatiti zasto to mislim..… Expand

See all 11 User Reviews

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