Royale Terror

On an apocalyptically radiant December morning, the skyscrapers of Tokyo's high-rise Shinjuku district crumble to the ground in perfect unison. It's a searing spectacle, a ballet of terrorism executed with characteristic Japanese grace and precision. Like 9/11, the attack is an act of blind, vengeful rage that claims thousands of innocent lives. But the perpetrators aren't foreign religious extremiststhey're disaffected local teens delivering the knockout scene in this year's most anticipated Japanese movie. Battle Royale II opens in Japan this month amid a deafening buzz of hype and expectation, and with one question looming over the rest: will the sequel generate...