Batoru rowaiaru II: Chinkonka [Battle Royale II: Requiem] (2003)

(In French, On Cable TV, May 2020) I’m really not the biggest fan of the first Battle Royale movie, but even I have to admit that it did have a clear narrative tension, which is sorely absent from its sequel Battle Royale II: Requiem. Not that it’s the only thing missing from this disappointing follow-up: taking the contrivances of the first film to another level, this sequel only makes sense in the mind of its screenwriters obsessed with criticizing post-9/11 America. The plot (about high schoolers equipped with explosive collars, bonded in pairs and sent to kill a terrorist before Americans bomb his island hideout) couldn’t be less convincing if it worked overtime, and the characterization is sorely missing. The anti-American message of the film quickly wears thin (and I say this as someone who lived, aghast, though 2001–2003) and the action never manages to create the level of tension seen in the first film. It’s all rather dull, repetitive, uninvolving and useless. Considering all of what’s happening in this film, the return to the battle royale concept, along with its overlong briefing sequence, completely undermines its theme. The “provocative” message is ham-fisted, ill-thought-through, and completely uninspiring as an alternative to American imperialism. Even fans of the first Battle Royale will not like this one.