Movies - Battle Royale II: Requiem

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	Movies - Battle Royale II: Requiem

Battle Royale II: Requiem is a Japanese dystopian film action-thriller, released in 2003. It is a sequel to the 2000 film, Battle Royale
, which in turn was based upon a controversial 1999 novel of the same title by Koushun Takami.

Director Kinji Fukasaku, who had helmed the first film, started work on the sequel but died of bone cancer on January 12, 2003, after shooting only one scene. His son Kenta Fukasaku, who wrote the screenplay for both films, completed the film in his father's honor.

In the sequel, survivors of previous Battle Royales, led by Shuya Nanahara (the hero of the first film), have formed a terrorist group called "Wild Seven." The government creates a new Battle Royale game where the chosen class must storm Wild Seven's island stronghold and kill its leader. Once again, Shuya - accompanied by survivors of previous "Programs" - must fight to survive.

The film does not use any elements of Takami's novel, save for a few characters.

The sequel was panned by critics as inferior to the original, stating that the original's fresh concept, innocent characters, and occasional dark humor outshines the teen-angst driven action of the sequel. Others say that it is a worthy follow-up.

The film suggests (but never explicitly states) that the United States is behind the Battle Royales, despite the original book actually giving praise to the United States by saying it could be the country to end the Facist government in Japan. The film goes out of its way twice to catalogue the countries the United States has, in real life, invaded or attacked over the years. A flashback sequence in which the Wild Seven terrorist group blow up several buildings in Tokyo is reminiscent of the 9-11 terrorist attacks, complete with the destruction of Tokyo City Hall, which resembles the World Trade Center. At the end of the film, the last remaining members of the Wild 7 seek refuge in Afghanistan, which was the first target of the War on Terrorism.

The sequel's soundtrack has more original work by Amano and fewer classical pieces.

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