Movie Review: Rollerball
Actor Chris Klein of "American Pie" fame, says he had to learn to skate for his part in Rollerball. "I had to learn how to inline skate, which I had only done in junior high school. It was a horribly humbling experience. People would ask me to do something that I was initially just physically incapable of doing. I trained with extreme skaters, guys younger than me, and they taught me how to do a half-pipe and skate up the wall. When I left, I was ready to play rollerball."
Young Jonathan Cross (Chris Klein) rips all over San Francisco streets on a street luge board hoping that his need for speed will drown the sorrow of not being chosen for a professional hockey team. When old high school buddy Marcus Ridley (LL Cool J) asks him to try out for a European Rollerball team and cops are hot on his tail, Jonathan moves overseas, joins the team, and quickly becomes its star player with a huge fan base. He also gets a "secret" thing going with hot team member Aurora (Rebecca Romijn-Stamos).
When the game's creator and team owner Petrovich (Jean Reno) sees that game accidents bring in huge TV ratings, he sees that they happen intentionally. When Jonathan and pals learn of the set-up, Jonathan and Ridley try to flee the country. When Jonathan returns, he faces a final no holds-barred death game and he must play for his life.
This film has a very rocky history. It was originally supposed to be released in early 2001 but was pulled back continually for re-cuts and other tweaking. The "R" rating was toned down to PG-13 and out went Rebecca's nude scenes and a lot of game gore. This wouldn't matter if the characters, story and action were strong. Such is not the case. The original 1975 film starring a young James Caan made more sense on several levels. His Jonathan E. character was a weathered veteran of the game who had earned his popularity. The corporate team owners didn't like his maverick attitude and wanted him to think and behave as the other faceless team members. When he refused to be part of the group mind, he was scheduled for death in the ring. Since it was set in the then far future, there were no countries, only corporations and the rollerball matches had taken the place of war so much more was at stake.
In this film, it's greed and TV ratings and the fact that Jonathan simply knows too much that gets him in trouble. Not nearly as creative. Also, it's not very heroic that, when he and Ridley learn that team members are being set up for accidents and they may be next, they just try to leave the country rather than staying to fight back and protect fellow players.
Physically, the game in this version fails as well since, due to strange editing, camera angles, etc., we never really get a feel for how it is played so we can't root for a winner. It's just a hodge podge of skaters and cyclists zooming around a figure eight track, willy-nilly until somebody throws a steel ball into a target. The rabid sports announcer is supposed to be reacting to hot game action but we don't get what he's so riled up about because we don't see it. I remember the original film's game as being more clear. Also, for some odd reason action director John McTiernan doesn't achieve a feeling of the breakneck speed that is needed to thrill in the game sequences. Only an opening street luge scene accomplishes any real feeling of speed. There is also a chase sequence that is oddly shot through a green (night vision) filter that is supposed to be proceeding at 120 mph only the camera shows us that everyone is really going about 30!
The story is choppy and hard to follow. I never really understood why the game only seemed to be big in Slavic countries and never in the U.S. What happened to the Chinese, Japanese, etc.? We are supposed to feel sorry for a bunch of poverty-stricken Euro coal miners but we never get to know any of them so we don't care. Pop star Pink's scenes are gone except one tiny flash. The "bad guys" are a bunch of team owners and TV moguls who stay pretty faceless and are cartoonish in their "evil." Jean Reno is way over the top as a snarling, pissed off team owner who screams most of his lines in an unintelligible French accent. Most of the Jonathan/Aurora romance is evidently on the cutting room floor so we barely feel their connection. Chris Klein generates about as much heat in his role as a cold, steel rollerball so we can't root much for him.
The original film and story was certainly something that could have produced a very good re-make. Regrettably, this isn't it. I'd say go rent the original!
I give "Rollerball" 2 out of 5 stars (for at least some interesting action)
