The much-anticipated sequel to Japan's most globally infamous export won't convince Battle Royale fanatics; whereas the original functioned as scathing, modern satire, this follow-up implodes ostensibly into complete self-parody. And it is hysterical. Laughter came nervously in the original, as if to alleviate the perverse tension of an adolescent cat fight with firearms, yet this sequel piles on ten times the blood, body count and melodramatic death scenes to glorious, ridiculous effect.

Takeshi Kitano makes a ubiquitous cameo – Sonny Chiba, too – but it's the grizzly Riki Takeuchi who assumes Kitano's taskmaster role in self-caricature mode, commandeering yet another clueless gathering of high school delinquents, fitting them out in kevlar vests and automatic weapons, and launching them headfirst into a D-Day beachhead assault. Like a certain Steven Spielberg movie, these Band of Teenagers find themselves slaughtered by a blanket of machine gun fire and incoming mortar rounds (medic!). Believe it or not, this a modern day war allegory, where the youth of today are pitted against the youth who just don't want to grow up (a rebel faction of reactionaries lead by BR survivor Nanahara).

There's a lot of fun in watching these kids do their best impression of GI-Joe, yet this is also a wantonly aggressive endorsement for terrorism, anti-Americanism and teenage developmental angst. Utterly incorrect of the political kind, the subtext to this film is both muddled and has plenty of balls. Needless to say, when a film opens with a series of skyscrapers exploding, 9/11-style, it's hardly out to make any friends.—Tim Wong

» Kenta & Kinji Fukasaku | Japan | 2003