Rollerball (February 10/02)

The history behind John McTiernan's Rollerball is almost more compelling than the movie itself.

Initially slated for a summer 2001 release, the film received a disastrous review from Harry Knowles (webmaster for Ain't It Cool News). Invited to a test screening by McTiernan, Knowles reported back to his site in the form of a long and scathing review. Shortly afterwards, the film was pulled from its June slot and rescheduled for this month - edited down from its R rating and into a more teen-accessible PG-13. So, the only question remaining is: Does it suck?

Surprisingly enough, not completely. Chris Klein stars as Jonathan Cross, an aimless 20-something who spends his days performing dangerous stunts for cash (as the film opens, he's luging down a busy San Franciscan hill). He gets the opportunity of a lifetime, though, when his buddy (LL Cool J) offers him a chance to try-out for Rollerball. Rollerball is a sport that mixes motorcycle racing, inline skating, and rugby to often deadly results. Jonathan quickly becomes a star Rollerball player, complete with perks like fast cars and women. But he begins to discover a seedier side to the game, in the form of a ruthless team owner (played by Jean Reno). Armed with the assistance of a fellow player (Rebecca Romijn-Stamos), he decides to fight back.

Rollerball isn't a great film by any means, but for fast-paced thrills and larger-than-life stunts the movie delivers. After an opening sequence that really has nothing to do with the rest of the film (that luging thing), the movie takes us right into a Rollerball match. And for 20 minutes or so, we watch as players beat the living daylights out of one another and attempt to toss a metal ball into what can only be described as a big trumpet. Though the game really doesn't seem to have any purpose or linear progression, it can't be denied that it's thrilling to watch.

But then Rollerball tries to work in some high and mighty social commentary, and this is where it fails completely. The point is made early on about reality television and where it might wind up (Rollerball's ratings increase only when players are hurt), but McTiernan keeps hammering the message over and over until it's impossible to care any more. Add to that a completely pointless mining subplot (don't ask), and you've got a conflicted action movie.

But the action is good and the actors aren't terrible (Romijn-Stamos is easily the standout, with her complex and compelling performance), so Rollerball just might be worth a look on cheapie night.