Battle Royale is a superbly visceral, darkly comic adaptation of Koushun Takami's novel, as a class of school-children find themselves in a battle to the death on a remote island. One frequently-cited criticism of the movie is that all of the characters get just the right amount of time to say their epic, often romantic goodbyes to the people around them before dying, but often these dialogues are meaningful and well-acted. However, one horribly-written character is Sugimura, a hormone-infused young lad whose last wish is to confess his love to classmate Kotohiki. He tracks her down near the end of the movie, though she has hidden out of fear, and when he becomes excited and enraged at this, she peeks out from her spot and shoots him numerous times, mortally wounding him. He's not even mad, though, and the following exchange occurs: Sugimura: Hurry, run. Kotohiki: What? Sugimura: Someone will come, drawn to the gunshots...Run! Kotohiki: Why? Sugimura, why? Sugimura: You're so cute. Though it makes sense that the characters are overly emotional and driven by their hormonal desires, this line is just one step too far towards cringe territory. It sounds like it belongs in a naff chick flick rather than a brutal political satire, and comes off as horribly forced as a result.
Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes).
General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.
