Rollerball (2002)

User Rating:

2.7/10   

Director:

John McTiernan

Writers (WGA):

William Harrison (short story "Roller Ball Murder")
William Harrison (1975 screenplay)

Release Date:

8 February 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Sci-Fi | Sport

Tagline:

Get In The Game.

Plot:

The big thing in 2005 is a violent sport which can have some pretty serious consequences... like dying.

Plot Keywords:

Face Slap | Inline Skating | Ratings | Topless | Sauna

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Chris Klein	...	Jonathan Cross
Jean Reno	...	Alexis Petrovich
LL Cool J	...	Marcus Ridley
Rebecca Romijn	...	Aurora (as Rebecca Romijn-Stamos)
Naveen Andrews	...	Sanjay
Oleg Taktarov	...	Denekin
David Hemblen	...	Serokin
Janet Wright	...	Coach Olga
Andrew Bryniarski	...	Halloran
Kata Dobó	...	Katya
Alice Poon	...	Red Team #7
Lucia Rijker	...	Red Team #9
Melissa R. Stubbs	...	Red Team #12 (as Melissa Stubbs)
Paul Wu	...	Red Team #16 - U Chow
Yolanda Hughes-Heying	...	Red Team #28

Also Known As:

Rollerball (Germany)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for violence, extreme sports action, sensuality, language and some drug references.; Rated R for violence, nudity and some language. (video version)

Runtime:

98 min | Germany:95 min

Country:

USA | Germany | Japan

Language:

English | Russian | French | Arabic | Korean | German | Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Malaysia:18SG | Iceland:16 | South Korea:15 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Finland:K-15 | France:-12 | Germany:18 | Hungary:16 | Peru:18 | Philippines:R-18 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:M18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:PG-13 (original rating) | USA:R (home video version)

Filming Locations:

Blainville, Québec, Canada

Company:

Atlas Entertainment

Trivia:

Also due to the poor test audience reception, the film was edited from an R rating to a PG-13 to allow broader appeal.

Goofs:

Continuity: Near the end, Alexi fires a shotgun at Jonathon, who proceeds to block the shot with a metal seat, suffering no recoil or knock back, and keeps walking. About two minutes later, Sanjay walks in and Jonathon shoots him with the same shotgun and Sanjay flies at least two metres through the air. Not only are both these instances physically impossible, but they are inconsistent.

Quotes:

Alexis Petrovich: You see Yevgeny over there, so full of himself now. He used to work in the post office. I introduced him to the proper financing, and now he owns the mines. Yeah, making a fortune. Keeps the miners in line. Good business. You might wonder why I'm not in it myself...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Oh, No! Zombies!!! (2003) (V)

Soundtrack:

Body Go

Why!

The original film was a masterpiece. Not only for the (at the time) over-the-top action, but for the marvelously clear look into the future. Only science-fiction would dare suggest the future holds society completely employed by six corporations! What a brilliant prophecy!

In the self-centered and hedonistic 70's, isn't it amazing the true gist of the original film is the attempt to keep a famous player from becoming bigger than the game he plays? One need only peruse today's business section to see how our society now strives to eliminate the notion of the individual in favor of an identity-nullifying "team concept."

So one can say the original is all about the triumph of the individual.

The 2002 version is nothing more than a haphazard mess that shows what happens when a studio changes hands and a cinematic vision is compromised for a PG-13 rating that effectively destroys the film. Rollerball could do with a well-intentioned remake; this wasn't it.................by a long shot.