Batoru Rowaiaru (Battle Royale, Kinji Fukasaku 2000)

A group of Japanese students in some post-apocalyptic setting is being carried off to an island where each gets "weapons" of different quality and it is explained to them they now have to engage in a battle against each other until only one is left alive.

The setting is stadard model one against all - or rather all against all, with the expected grouping of friends, falling apart of groups, surprising enemies and unexpected allies, and a pretty interesting character supervising them and steering the whole battle for the military. Trouble is that none of the combattants has a character developed making him / her interesting enough to allow for empathy. Instead, a releatively blunt and cold plot evolves, people die, the clock is ticking, but "drama" does not really happen. In that repsect the film is actually quite creative, as it does not create artificial drama, but decides to rather show the mixture of dirt and boredom and hard work that is required in that kind of setting. This almost neo-realistic touch is the interesting bit about the film, the rest is less interesting than even Schwarzenegger's variety on the Running man topic.