Today’s quick review: Rollerball. Out of options in the United States, extreme athlete John Cross (Chris Klein) seeks his fortune as a Rollerball player in Central Asia. John’s skills help him rocket to the top of the violent sport, alongside his friend Marcus Ridley (LL Cool J) and girlfriend Aurora (Rebecca Romijn). But when John uncovers a conspiracy to injure players for higher ratings, he earns the wrath of Petrovich (Jean Reno), the team’s owner.
Rollerball is a sports action movie about a fictitious blood sport and the steep price of commercial success. A remake of the sci-fi movie of the same name, Rollerball scraps the original’s corporate future for a seedy present where media tycoons stand to make a fortune from the barely licit sport. The movie musters a fair amount of action, but its execution leaves plenty to be desired, thanks to flaky direction and mediocre acting and writing.
Rollerball makes a lot of little mistakes that add up quickly. The jumpy presentation style makes it hard to track the action. Small editing errors and shots that leave out important information contribute to a subtly bumpy ride. The film also relies too much on noise and spectacle to sell its sport and not enough on concrete action. The frenzied, commercial nature of Rollerball matches the themes of the movie but undermines the impact of its stunts.
These minor flaws weaken an already shaky foundation. The titular sport is a perfect excuse for violence, but its execution is lackluster. Chris Klein, LL Cool J, and Rebecca Romijn are decent leads who never really shine, while Jean Reno’s cartoonish performance is a distraction at best. The plot is predictable and doesn’t give the characters much to do. Topping it all off are the film’s efforts to come across as cool, which simply fall flat.
Rollerball has the makings of a decent action movie, but it lacks the craftsmanship, taste, and originality to follow through on them. It serves as a weak popcorn watch for dedicated action fans, but it’s badly outclassed by other movies in the genre. Most viewers would be better off skipping it. For a weightier take on a similar premise, try the original Rollerball. For a more robust take on extreme sports, try xXx, Death Race, or Gamer.
3.0 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 5.0 for poor execution.