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The Wait For It Podcast
Hosted by MrEricAlmighty and PhilTheFilipino, the guys discuss all things in Pop Culture from movies, gaming, anime and anything in between. New episodes every Wednesday, all you have to do is...WAIT FOR IT!
The Wait For It Podcast
International Feature: Battle Royale
For our next request during Patreon Month, we pull apart Battle Royale’s cult status with fresh eyes—what still works, what hasn’t aged well, and why its influence keeps echoing through movies and games. We weigh shock against substance, highlight standout characters, and debate whether minimal worldbuilding helps or hurts its punch.
• Why Battle Royale’s premise still provokes
• Influence on Hunger Games, Squid Game, and battle royale games
• Shock value versus satire and social critique
• Standout characters, including Mitsuko and Kawada
• Worldbuilding gaps in the film vs the book and manga
• Violence, tone whiplash, and budget constraints
• Emotional stakes and why attachment is hard
Letterbox'd Synopsis: In the future, the Japanese government captures a class of ninth-grade students and forces them to kill each other under the revolutionary “Battle Royale” act.
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This is the Wait For It Podcast.
SPEAKER_01:Hey everyone, welcome back to the Wait For It Podcast. I'm your co-host, Phil Barrera, aka Phil the Filipino.
SPEAKER_02:And I'm your other co-host, Mr. Eric Almighty. And for international feature, this edition is going to feature a film that's internationally known. Keep all this in. Don't don't restart. Don't restart. You gotta give me a minute, man. I was cooking. I was cooking. I was cooking. International feature.
SPEAKER_01:It's gonna feature.
SPEAKER_02:A film promoted gradually. As a movie that you just have to see at least once in your life. And that's exactly why we started this series, Phil. We're here to talk about Battle Royale. And this intro is as chaotic as this film.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. Jesus Christ, man. Eric and I are like manic right now because we spent a very interesting night at Daily's Place last night. Not great returns, I guess I'll say that. Shout out to there being an alternative to the WWE. But uh I think it's time, Tony Khan, to pull the plug on Daily's Place. And maybe start doing those somewhere else. But anyway, we're not here to talk about our night at AEW. We're here to talk about 2000's Battle Royale. Like you said, Eric, directed by Kinji Fukusaku. And like you said, movie we've had circled for a very, very long time. Uh, this one, second episode of Patreon Month. And shout out to our buddy Corey. Uh, this is his suggestion for Patreon Month. And yeah, um, a lot to discuss here. This movie is so influential, and as far as what it has done for pop culture in general, still relevant to this very day. So, plenty to discuss here this evening. But yeah, Eric, let's jump into it. Uh, of course, for any of you returning or new listeners, stick around to the end of the episode. We'll let you know you can find everything wait for it, podcast related. But Battle Royale 2000, uh, the tagline in Letterboxd, could you kill your best friend? In the future, the Japanese government captures a class of ninth grade students and forces them to kill each other under the Revolutionary Battle Royale Act. So, uh, Eric, we will uh go to our three bullet point system here. I will go first here uh and um talk about just how I mean the the most important thing as far as why we watched this film is like I just said how influential it was. The Hunger Games is one of my favorite series. I've read all the books, I've seen all the films. Uh, very excited for the next film that is coming out. And one of the main things you heard back when the first Hunger Games movie came out, right? Was let's see, when was that? Um, that was back in 2012, god. 13 years ago. So everyone that was very familiar with film, and of course, but you know, the book version of this and the manga was like, well, this is just a ripoff of Battle Royale. I'm I'm just gonna be honest with you guys, there's no original ideas left. Nobody lives an original life. We're all living in a simulation, we all have shared experiences. So everything is basically a parody, or uh not necessarily a ripoff, but like inspired by something else. And of course, Battle Royale is essentially that film, and I'm sure Battle Royale took liberties and uh inspiration from something else. But without this, Eric, I think we we would definitely be devoid of one of at least they're certainly one of my favorite genres, and that goes all the way into video games when we talk about Fortnite, we talk about player unknowns battlegrounds and war zone and all that stuff. There is an appeal to this specific type of storytelling and this type of one-on-one combat or an elimination last man standing type of thing. And I'm glad that we finally got to see, at least pop culture-wise, kind of where all of this started.
SPEAKER_02:For that reason, I am happy that we definitely saw this. It's one that we've circled for quite a long time. I'm pretty sure friend of the show, Jordan, has also mentioned this multiple times to us. So it's not like in our inner circle we haven't heard of this movie, and in film circles, we definitely have heard a lot about this film. I would say, you know, this is definitely so Phil, is your first takeaway? You haven't done your first takeaway yet, right? You're just kind of f fielding the thoughts of the fact that this is a genre that Battle Royale might have started, but uh didn't exactly invent the wheel to. So that's fair. Okay.
SPEAKER_01:Setting like a setting like an overall tone for the film and like again why it's it's here, because it comes up in film circles, but it's it doesn't feel like it's really in in terms of its place in pop culture, it's not really talked about a ton. And even on YouTube, like when you go look for some videos, most of the videos that I found were relatively old, you know, from the f from a few years ago when I tried to get kind of you know what other people were saying about this film, and it is very highly regarded, and we'll talk about that when it comes to scores in just a moment. So I I guess what I'll start off with, Eric, is it's not an easy movie to watch. The violence is pretty brutal, and not everybody thinks that it's necessarily justified. And we are talking about kids, right? Now, I'm sure in the two in 2000 this was even more shocking, especially when it came to Western audiences. It it was very successful over in the East, and it certainly gained a very, very big cult following. But the first thing is like this movie is definitely not gonna be for everybody, even in 2025, 25 years later, where we're kind of desensitized to violence, which is you know a conversation for a whole nother time. But I will say because it as far as violence-wise, it is more violent than like a Hunger Games. There is a lot that goes that goes on in there, but it you know, there's a lot of cutaways to that. But they they focus in on the killing here in Battle Royale, and that's obviously very intentional and makes it not for everybody, and not a viewing that I would suggest for everybody either.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, that I honestly parallels a lot of what I was thinking about the movie, is the fact that this isn't for everybody. In fact, if you're not a fan of Quentin Tarantino, well, this is like his favorite movie in the past.
SPEAKER_01:Like two deck of all time, yeah.
SPEAKER_02:So, yeah, he loves this movie that he's been on record on saying that, and I could see why he would like that movie. Like based off of his films, I think the way he described it was it's a movie that he wished he made. And when you watch this, you kind of you kind of get that, you kind of get the vibes, especially for the type of violence, which we're gonna kind of talk about, how some of that is portrayed here, and some of my thoughts on that. But what I'll say, especially on a positive note, to kind of parallel with this, I really liked what this film brought. And I think if you like that type of violence, this movie uh isn't just balls to the walls violence, like there's a lot of it, but I think this movie blends in, it tries to do some character work, it tries to slow things down before it picks it back up. I think it does a pretty decent job. If it's not always successful, at the very least, I think there is some semblance of uh character development, there is some semblance of humanity that's being portrayed and discussed. There's also obviously all of the allegories and all of the things that have to do with high school and all of these kids of that age and things they have to deal with at that age. There's a lot going underneath the surface other than the violence. And I think that someone can pick this up and really take something from the film other than just pure blood, guts, and gore. Because that's not really what I think this film set out to do and is all about.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, there there are a lot of layers here to this film, which again may be another reason that people aren't going to enjoy it. Uh, one, you know, we did watch this in sub, which is definitely, I think, the way that I would recommend checking it out. I didn't even entertain, and I don't think you did either, I Eric. We didn't entertain even watching the dub, which does exist. I know I watched the um I think the director's cut, which was on Paramount, and I had like a million ads, but I got my I got through it.
SPEAKER_02:So yeah, we go through Fandango.
SPEAKER_01:Okay, yeah, that's what I watched as well. So, I mean it was free. So shout out to Fan Fandango. So just a whole bunch of ads. But yeah, so I I think that would be certainly a it could be a positive and a negative because there are so there's so much layer, there's so many layers, so much subtext going on when it comes to this film. And to get to my second takeaway, this is both uh I think both of a positive and a negative because from what I understand um from some Reddit posts that I found as well, is they go much more in depth with the world building here. Now, in this, I I do think it's a positive and a negative. I think it's it's something good, and it's also a detriment to the film that it kind of just throws you in. You're kind of experiencing it as if you were one of the kids in the class, and it's all just kind of thrown at you. From my understanding, from what I read here on a Reddit post that I found, in the book, the kids are very much aware that this is a thing. And in the movie, it doesn't really seem that way. They're all pretty surprised. And also in the book, and I think even the manga, they like it's a whole spectacle, like the Hunger Games is, it's televised and everything like that. And in the book, they actually like cut away to parents' reactions to when their kids are eliminated in this in this arena. And I think that would be first off, it would be horrifying, but uh it would, I think, assist in the world building quite a bit. And so again, I I like that you're just thrown into it in in in terms of what the hell is going on. And if you wanted to this blind in the 2000s, I'm sure it would be like a crazy experience. But also at the same time, it's like maybe some of that extra stuff happening outside of the island would have uh well, it definitely would have improved the experience, in my opinion.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, and and again, that's gonna be echoing some of my similar thoughts when it comes to my second takeaway. I agree with you. I think that's an issue with the genre itself. Like the genre itself really requires there to be a lot of emotional punches to be delivered. So I watched The Long Walk in theaters this year in 2025, and that movie did a pretty decent job. But like most of these movies where only one person survives, like when you have that setup and you know that that's gonna be the case, and and more than likely it's gonna end up just being one, if not one or two individuals, if they throw a curveball, then I don't know, like it just kind of takes some of the intensity away, and you're supposed to replace that unsuredness with like emotional beats. And I think for me, that's what this movie is somewhat lacking. There are a ton of characters, there are some character traits and developments, but I never really felt attached to a singular character in any way, shape, or form. If anything, the only character I got attached to because of the performance was the the teacher, the teacher who was who was leading all this. So, I mean, again, I didn't connect with him in any way other than he was entertaining and I liked his performance, but yeah, I don't know. I didn't I just didn't feel a connection to any particular character. I'm assuming you did, which is where we probably differ on this.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, there's definitely one character that stood out over the rest of them. But just to kind of like uh like touch on what you were saying, yeah, it's um there is so much going on, and that's very intentional, like the chaotic nature of the film, like really driving home the the sense that like shit can just turn uh out of nowhere. Like the best uh one the example that sticks out for me, and actually was one of my favorite scenes in the movie, is when the girl poisons the food and then they just all immediately just goes to shit. And I feel like that would be that was a really realistic response to how things would just go absolutely haywire in that sort of situation. And that was I think that's the film, that's the part of the film that will certainly stick out the most. I also did thought I think it's so crazy that there are there are moments of this film where like I did laugh, like when the guy cuts off the guy's head and throws his head through the window and then the grill is in his mouth. I'm like, Alright, that's that's kind of funny. I know it's it's horrifying, but it's it's kind of funny. So yeah, I just think like this chaotic nature is just not gonna be for everybody. Um, and and I'm I'm very interested to see like what Corey has to say, because he'll have a much more artistic way of explaining this film to us uh than we are doing right now. But yeah, I there was one character that I really really connected with, and I believe, and Eric, you'll probably know which one, it's the the character of uh Mitsiko, and that is the one that was like just killing it throughout the entire movie. She was definitely uh a force to be reckoned with for sure. She was kind of one step ahead of everybody as well, and I really just like kind of how she carried herself throughout the film. The three like main characters that we follow, whose whose names I don't have. I know one of them is Nanahara. He is the boy, uh, one of the final three boys there. And I can't remember the name of the guy that they kind of like team up with. Do you have that, Eric? I I wish they would just like I oh there's like a list of characters. Kawada? Oh yeah, Shogo Ka Kawada. Kawada, yeah.
SPEAKER_02:I might I probably mispronounced that. There's a lot of names. Again, this is the thing with like, especially I think an international film with all of these character names, that was also a struggle on a first watch. I will say that.
SPEAKER_01:Sure. Yeah, and I do like the world building they do with him. Like you get a night, like he was in the game before, and that's very interesting, but you get a very like brief snapshot of that. So, you know, I'm sure this is also a uh, you know, subject to the time that it was made. The budget was only 4.5 million uh at the time, so uh, you know, obviously a very small budget for for this film. So I think you you gotta give a lot of respect for what they pulled off here. You definitely can see like where the money went for sure when it came to some of the deaths uh that was um that were very, very like expressive, and that was certainly the point. But yeah, I definitely uh want to point out that character as far as Mitsuko and and also the one we just uh the one we just mentioned whose name I just had in front of me. Uh yeah, Kawada. But but again, that's a backstory that's interesting, but you don't get enough of it. And um, again, because there's just so many other characters, so much going on, you can only do so much in a two-hour film. So yeah, I did enjoy that character.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, and this movie did do a lot with like flashbacks and stuff. I I don't know that it was particularly effective for me. It took me out more than it gave me clarity or like more depth to the characters personally, so I don't know that that really helped, but yeah, I mean, like again, it's a movie, Phil, that I am curious to hear other perspectives on it. Because I do think for when it came out and the budget you mentioned, and what the film was set out to try to do, I can understand why it's kind of like a cult classic. Like, and I can also understand why some people would see it as like a revolutionary film just in film circles. It just I don't know. Watching it for the first time in 2025, I just don't think I felt that same impact. But we'll see. This movie is coming out around the time of this episode drops, I think right before Phil comes out for its 25th anniversary in theaters. So, I mean, again, there's obviously some type of appeal to this for many people, but I think it is still very much in that cult classic status. And somebody with fresh eyes in 2025, uh, I don't know if it hits the same.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, because I I'll I'll say this and just out of just respectfully say this because I understand how important this movie is, because without it, like some of the world building in the Hunger Games is my favorite part. Like getting to know those characters, getting to know what's going on in the other districts and the political intrigue. They are alluding to that here. We know that this has happened, something has led to this moment, and we just focus on the killing on the island, which works. I think does work, but it just leaves like, man, I would like to know more. And that's probably a good thing. Um, there is a sequel to this that I don't think we'll ever watch because it's not very well regarded. So uh we'll just have Corey tell us whether or not that's worth checking out. But yeah, I just think that sometimes you could argue that like the movie's message, especially 25 years later, could get lost under the shock value. Um, especially if like somebody is not seeking out this movie. No one's gonna casually watch Battle Royale in 2025. So I'm not too worried about that in terms of like feedback. So, like, you know, we're uh, you know, we're very intentional about wanting to watch this movie. No one's gonna come across this on first off, it's really hard to find, uh, because uh as far as we had to, like I said, we had to watch it on Fandango. So uh we couldn't even, and it's pretty hard to find a physical copy as well. So it's not like anybody is gonna come across this that doesn't want to. Um, so some of those points as far as like it not being for everybody don't really apply because it's not no one's gonna see that anyway. No one's gonna stumble into the AMC on a Sunday in November and be like, what's Battle Royale? And think that it's like a Fortnite movie. I hope that doesn't happen. Let's hope not. Again, I would assume Or maybe I hope it doesn't. Maybe. Well, hopefully where's K-pop demon hunters?
SPEAKER_02:Listen, this movie did have a uh rating in Japan where no one under the age of 16 could watch it. Like, so you know what I mean? Like, maybe I don't know if that if that like similar thing is happening these days, but I mean, I don't know. I feel like again, for its time, I would understand that. But like for now, I don't want to call it like it's just a piece of cake to watch this, but it'll tie into my third point about the violence. That you know, I this isn't like the most gruesome thing you've ever seen. I think the way this movie is hyped up to a lot of people, and maybe for its time it was. But this isn't the most like uh gory, gruesome, horrific movie you've ever seen in your life. And I think for many years it kind of had the claim of that a little bit. I don't know, Phil. That's just been my perspective when people talk about this movie, typically about the violence, and I just didn't feel that same impact compared to the hype leading up to it.
SPEAKER_01:I think just it's just because it's kids, and that's always going to be difficult, but like when you compare it, and this is so unfair, but like I'm I'm just looking at our list here and looking at other brutal films we've watched, like I cared about the kids to an extent, but like it wasn't as like a we've watched some brutal movies, like we've watched a train to Boussan, you know, we've watched films, even watching a show like Blue Eyes Samurai. We just watched Grave of the Fireflies a couple months ago. Uh so when you're talking about movies that hit you emotionally, like they're just there are so many more that will come to mind before this. I think really what it comes down to is like these kids are killing each other, and it's not like Hunger Games where they're preparing for like a week before the games. You know, there's no period of time where they're training and learning, and there's a big spectacle of who's getting take uh chosen. You just, you know, wake up in this island and all of a sudden you're you're thrown into it, which I think again is an incredibly interesting concept in and of itself when you talk about it, when you talk about doing the movie that way and doing a story that way. I I'll tell you, I'll be honest with you, I don't really I don't think I'll ever read the book, but the manga looks interesting. I would have I would like to have it like in my collection just to have and maybe skim through just to again get more of that world building. But yeah, it just like it's I think it's pretty good. And but it was just like, man, I really I w I wanted more, and that's probably a that's probably a good thing.
SPEAKER_02:So yeah, yeah, and again, considering when the movie came out, I think that's totally fair. Phil, I think uh we're creeping up on our final takeaway. Uh do you have one ready as far as your final takeaway for this? Otherwise, I'll jump into mine. Did we not do three?
SPEAKER_01:I thought I gave three. Did you give a third? We've just been chatting. Yeah, I thought I thought that was your third, and that was I gave my third. Oh.
SPEAKER_02:Well, listen, maybe we did. Uh, I'm gonna give a fourth here, so I want to just talk about numbers, counting's not our thing. Yeah, you know what? I want to talk about uh what I alluded to with the violence in this movie. Was it not a little goofy? A little goofy, right?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, uh yeah. And I think that again, that's budget restriction stuff for sure. And also, I don't think they're gonna fully blow off a kid's head.
SPEAKER_02:Well, I don't know. They they they afforded quite a bit of bullets. Oh quite a bit of bullets.
SPEAKER_01:That is true. There were a lot of shit. Unlimited ammo. He had a perk, he had the illimited ammo perk.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, uh, I don't know. Again, that might be more of a nitpicky thing. I it's definitely not helping, like, you know, us not liking a film like Hero because of some of the uh the fighting. And I think in these international films it's different, right? It's way different, but I bring it up because one of the things we didn't love, which we thought we would, was gonna be some of like the combat in that. And in this, like the violence was so over the top, and international films tend to do that sometimes, and I'm just worried sometimes when we go into movies, older films too, that it's a lot of that, and that's kind of what made international films stand out way back in the day. But like, it doesn't feel like that's the go-to move anymore, where they need to have all these over-the-top type of things, whether it is a kung fu action sequence or you know, a guy with a machine gun blowing up a bunch of bodies, and they're still alive. They're still alive. I saw a thousand bullets enter that person's body. That person is still moving, it's still moving, don't get it. But I also just think it's because of the time, it's because of the international films and what they were kind of doing at that time that I'm not the biggest fan of. And I'm just starting to realize for me anyway, that that is definitely a deterrent. And I'm starting to recognize that I think that's just something I don't enjoy in these movies, and I've got to just start to own that it will unfortunately affect my score.
SPEAKER_01:Sure. We have we definitely have a trend when it comes to some of these films that we're watching. We're we're very much high on the drama and the storytelling, and there is that here. It's just we've seen so many good international films that have done it way better. And also portrayed violent, and also portrayed violence uh in a much different way. Well, you like the raid way more than I did, but that's true. I think the score is gonna end up being pretty similar. But when we talk about like some of the violent films that we watch, obviously we were talking about Train to Busan. There is, you know, Memories of Murder isn't super violent, other than the guy that drop kicks everybody. But uh, you know, there is a lot of violence in there. Uh, you know, Children of Men, obviously. That's you know, there's stuff going on 28 days later. Like some of these films that are also ultraviolent, you know, and again, and again, Grave of the Fireflies, which is the most devastating film I've ever seen in my entire life. So uh there are uh now we're getting to the point in this series, as well as in Late to the Party, where we're comparing them to like some of the other bests of all time, and that's where it's gonna get really interesting when it comes to these conversations. But yeah, you know, the violence definitely as far as the overkill when uh, you know, characters are still moving around. Um, even in that scene I was just talking about where they're all in the kitchen, you know, that goes on a little bit too long. But once again, you can 100% say here or see why Tarantino would be all over this thing. I'm surprised he hasn't just made it a battle royale of his own. And I'm pretty sure the girl that plays Mitsuko is in Kill Bill, isn't she? I mean, that would track. Yeah, I know one of them is. I'm pretty sure it is Mitsuko, but I I'll I'll have to double check.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I mean that would track. But yeah, let's let's go ahead and talk about the scores, reception of this film. Let's talk about some of those things as we get into our scores and just kind of overall comments for a movie fill again that I am glad that we watched, even though I think we both expected more from it. I think both of us still walked away pretty positively receiving the film, maybe one more than the other, though.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, really quick. Uh, what would you uh which weapon would you want if you were thrown into this? Which one would you be like, oh thank god I got this, or holy shit, I'm screwed up.
SPEAKER_02:Oh, that's submachine gun that that psychopath was willing to do.
SPEAKER_01:That thing, no, no He had more guns than that, too, but he just kept going for it.
SPEAKER_02:He just kept going for it.
SPEAKER_01:It had unlimited ammo.
SPEAKER_02:I respect him. I respect him. Yeah, that would have been my weapon of choice.
SPEAKER_01:No, you definitely would have gotten the pot lid, though, is what would have happened.
SPEAKER_02:That's exactly what would have happened. Yeah, no.
SPEAKER_01:I would have gotten maybe the tracker and like dropped it in water or something like that. Like I would have stumbled and it would have broken or something like that. That would have been like really, really helpful. I do wonder what the plan was for the guys that had figured out how to disable the trackers. I wasn't 100% sure what their plan was. Uh and unfortunately, won't you know we didn't get to find out, but yeah. It was uh weird. You know, it is um that was one of the more heartbreaking things, like seeing that obviously most of them did not want to fight, and and a lot of them had even banded together. But uh, yeah, such is the battle the game of Battle Royale. But let's get to the scores here, Eric. Like you said, uh, over on Rotten Tomatoes, 90% tomato meter score, certified fresh, 88% popcorn meter score, 70 uh I'm sorry, seven seven point five out of ten rating over on IMDB, and then for uh Letterboxd 3.9. So very, very good scores across the board for Battle Royale, like we said, a very, very big cult following at this point. Uh, I gave it a 3.5. I did lower it. Um, after because after, like I said, initially watching it, I felt really good about it. I was like, man, that was I I very much saying you enjoyed it is feels kind of fucked up, but I I enjoyed my time with it and and took away a lot from that first watch through. And then the more that I thought about it, the more that I researched about it, like I did drop it half a point to a 3.5. And yeah, like I said, um, I think it's definitely a must-watch for people who like the you know this specific genre, but also when it comes to film in general, if like you are a film buff, uh, this is definitely one of those must-watches to add to your list.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, for me, I it's really tough because I did enjoy the film overall, but man, I think I just walked away a lot more disappointed. For me, the battle royale genre, not a thing in film that I've enjoyed as much as like a season one of Squid Game. And that's probably been my favorite version of a show or like a version of Battle Royale that's been done as a show. However, I never wanted to jump into season two or three yet. Like, I have not itched to go back into that world. So there is a limitation on that, and I think that's just a me thing that I have to accept. Where I think a lot of people hold this movie is above a film like a Hunger's game, which I wouldn't agree with, but I'm not gonna go as far to as as far as to say it's as bad as a film like The Condemned, uh starring Steve Austin Phil. A film that I know for a I forgot about that movie.
SPEAKER_01:Oh my god.
SPEAKER_02:I knew that call out would get a reaction from you. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Holy shit.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, unfortunately. Unfortunately for me, this movie is more like the condemned than the Hunger Games, if we were to compare. That's why I gave it a three out of five. It is very much teetering on positive territory for me. I just think this movie, for its time, probably has a lot of love, whole classic appeal, all of that stuff. I think to show this to somebody in 2025 now, I don't know. There were just a couple things that for me didn't feel like they stood the test of time. And I think for a genre that I already don't have a lot of attachment for, it was a lot for this movie to live up to the hype that I had heard over the years. So that's just where we are. On a second watch, maybe I connect with a character or two and I bump this up to a three and a half, like you, Phil. But there's a good chance I watch this again, I get bored, and I bump it down to a 2.5. So a three is where we sit on a first viewing.
SPEAKER_01:Forgot Nathan Jones is in this movie, too.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, dude. I I waited till the end to bring up the condemned because I knew for a fact you'd be like, yo, let's go.
SPEAKER_01:Condemned. What a bad movie. You remember all the trailers for that movie? 2007. Yeah, just terrible.
SPEAKER_02:Crazy time.
SPEAKER_01:That was it. That was that that run where WWE kept producing movies and they were all shit.
SPEAKER_02:They were bad, yes. He knows.
SPEAKER_01:She has five fans. That means five people have liked it.
unknown:Letterboxd.
SPEAKER_01:Big Steve Austin fans, I guess. That's crazy. 11,000 ratings, 2.6 score. I'm gonna I'm gonna rate this a two right now.
SPEAKER_02:Just off of principle. I think I'll do the same.
SPEAKER_01:So that's crazy. But yeah, Eric, let's talk about where this. Ranks in terms of our international feature list. I currently have it ranked at number 23. It is behind 28 Days Later and Children of Men and right in front of the first Naja and Ultraman Rising, but those are all 3.5s for me.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, and you have a above the raid, which I didn't know you had so low on your list, and it kind of hurts my feelings, but that's okay. Battle Royale for me is listed at 29 behind films like Perfect Days and Bell, and above films like Blue Eyes Samurai and the First Slam Dunk. I forgot we watched Bell. Yeah, no, I mean. It's kind of crazy. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is very close to that film for me. Hmm. Weird.
SPEAKER_01:Weird. Yeah. Well, I mean, when you're talking about like it is in front of the raid, but from 29 to 18, those are all three and a halves.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, yeah. No, I mean it's not a bad thing, you know. I I get that. I get that.
SPEAKER_01:So like I said, you you enjoy the raid much more and you love all the John Wick movies.
SPEAKER_02:So like that is, you know, you're Yeah, that's the that's the type of I that's the type of action I I kind of gravitate towards, you know. You know, it's just uh just And have you also seen all the Hunger Games movies or just like one? I've seen all of them, but I gotta be honest with you. Like, if you ask me to recall a lot of the stuff that happened, I really couldn't. I can recall scenes very clearly, like a pop from a pop culture standpoint. But yeah, I know I've seen all those films and probably in theaters.
SPEAKER_01:But man, I just don't think you like Songbirds and Snakes, but I do think you'll like the new one. The one that's about to come out. Um, but I don't think you like Songbirds and Snakes.
SPEAKER_02:We'll see. We'll see. People die.
SPEAKER_01:That's true. Uh I know we don't normally do more like this for this, but uh, do you want to? No. Okay. Answers that question. Uh, I haven't seen the Belco experiment, but I've heard it's got a bad rating, but I heard the Belco experiment was kind of good. Oh, that's the one where they're all in the office building and they start killing each other. They have to escape.
SPEAKER_02:Oh.
SPEAKER_01:Same thing. They have to kill each there's only one person that can escape.
SPEAKER_02:Uh 2.8 letterboxed rating.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, but it's very it's I think it's popular amongst like horror fans, so you know.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, a lot of the a lot of these other films on here I don't really know much about. There's just some like really odd ones, Phil. So, like we we may not play more like this, but like films that I'm gonna call out that I know of or may have seen at some point or another, like The Happening, Final Destination 3, Kick Ass, Fight Club, like Texas Chainsaw Massacre. That seems a little out there. There's like films like that that are on here, Akira's on here, Hostel, Final Destination.
SPEAKER_01:Like at some point, it feels like those are only on here just because stylistically they're the same.
SPEAKER_02:That's what I was gonna say.
SPEAKER_01:It looks more like based off of filmmaking, yeah.
SPEAKER_02:Based off of a style, or like it just starts moving into horror at that point. So right.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. So but that's it. That's uh what we had to say about 2000s Battle Royale. What do you think? Uh, have you watched this film? Do you have any desire to if you're a fan of some of those other films or video games? That it is clearly uh it um that is is uh I am the worst I talking's hard as we get towards the end of this episode that has been inspired by Battle Royale. Uh, definitely let us know. Shout out again to Corey for the suggestion for Patreon Month. We'll let you know how you can get involved in Patreon Month here in just a little bit. But if you want to follow the Wait for a podcast and keep up with everything that we got going on, make sure you click the Link Tree link in this and every single episode. You'll be able to follow us on all of our social media accounts, uh, the most important ones being Instagram, TikTok, our growing Discord community, and over on Twitch, where we are streaming pretty much every single week. Uh, head on over to YouTube, like, share, subscribe. You guys know the drill over there. Uh, head on over to your favorite podcast player, give us five stars, recommend us, do all of that. That is very beneficial to the lifeblood of the show. And make sure to follow Eric and I's personal pages as Eric navigates his content creation journey, and I am continuing to pursue becoming a full-time voice actor. So we appreciate all the help and support that we have gotten so far. But uh again, if you want a hand in the content that we create, as well as getting some additional perks like getting episodes early. Eric will let you know how to do all of that before wrapping us up.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, all the free stuff that Phil mentioned is great, but if you want to go above and beyond and support us additionally, you can do that on Patreon, where our current patrons of the show, Briar, T3 Kato, Vintage Macaroni, Corey from the World's My Burrito, Nick Casbaro, the author of the Vitalarium series, and Botter from the Shortbox podcast, are supporting us monthly in exchange for things like behind the scenes and early access to episodes like this one. We also have interviews from our convention experience that we post on their first dibs to some of our higher tiers. There's a lot of ways you can support us, but that is the best way. All of the ways that you do it, though, is much appreciated, and including the ones that just take your time, they mean the world. With that being said, my name is Mr. Eric Almighty. That is my co host Phil the Filipino, and please don't forget we release new episodes for the podcast every Wednesday, and all you gotta do is wait for it.
SPEAKER_00:This is the Wait for It Podcast.
