Rollerball
Review
by : Gareth Von Kallenbach
Starring:
Chris Klein (Jonathan), Jean Reno (Alexi),
LL Cool J (Marcus), Rebecca Romijn-Stamos (Aurora)
Directed by: John McTiernan
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In centuries past, people would flock to violent spectator
sports to watch contestants stage bloody battles to appease
the bloodlust of the public. While many of the Emperors believed
that they were simply giving the people what they wanted,
others believed it was a brutal and barbaric practice that
had no place in a civilized and enlightened society.
As the ages passed, sporting events became less deadly, but
the spectacle remained, illustrating just how prophetic the
ancient emperors were as they understood that basic human
nature does not change and knew what to give the masses. While
many like to look at the Modern Age as a less violent and
more enlightened age, sports such as hockey, football, and
boxing deliver action and violence to packed arenas of fans,
who cheer louder with each bone crunching blow.
In the
1970's the threat of technology and large corporations was
the inspiration behind many cautionary tales from "Westworld"
to "Rollerball" where the reliance on technology and the loss
of individual control were the main themes. The original "Rollerball"
started James Caan in a cautionary tale of a world where corporations
ruled, and had control over every aspect of a person including
where and with whom they lived. It was a look at a society
that Cold-War Americans looked upon as a chilling reminder
of what could happen if Communism was to spread, and people
lost the right to make their own choices.
There
is an old saying of what once was old shall be new again,
and movies are no exception. Action director John McTiernan
has put aside his "Die Hard" style films in an effort to bring
"Rollerball" into the present age. The film stars Chris Klein
as Jonathan Cross. The best of the best in a new sport that
combines skating, hockey, motor cross, and spectacle to the
delight of crowds the world over. The sport is the creation
of Alexi Petrovich (Jean Reno), a former heavy in Communist
Russia who has embraced capitalism and the good life. Petrovich
is attempting to get a national cable deal in the US for his
sport, and travels with his team to various third world nations
to stage matches and gain investors for his sport. All seems
well as Jonathan and his friend Marcus Ridley (LL Cool J),
are making good money, and are loved by the masses as the
popularity of the sport grows. Jonathan also has a secret
romance with the sexy Aurora (Rebecca Romijn-Stamos), and
basks in his good fortune. All is not as it seems when a player
is injured during a match. While injuries are part of the
sport, this injury seems odd when it is learned that a helmet
strap was cut, and that ratings quadrupled after replays of
the injury were shown from multiple angles. Soon, all sorts
of bizarre accidents start to happen and Jonathan and his
friends are fighting not only for the truth, but also for
their very lives.
While
the setup for the film looks to be an action-thriller, the
film is a disjointed mess of quick cutting MTV-style segments.
The majority of the film is frantic action in the arena with
blaring music and wild visuals. It plays more like a promo
for the XFL than it does an action segment. Worse yet is the
character development, as the non-arena scenes seem to be
little more than an afterthought, and the pacing of the story
and delivery of the lines is worse than a freshman high school
production. Klein and Stamos have little chemistry, and LL
Cool J is not seen nearly enough in the film. Reno is good
in his role, but he is given nothing to work with and comes
across as little more than a stock heavy.
While
one segment of the film was shot with night vision lenses,
it was far too little innovation to save what could have been
an entertaining film. The film was edited to get a PG-13 rather
than an R rating, but I doubt that the inclusion of nudity
and violence would have been enough to save this dud. The
messages of self-determination, loyalty, and honor are lost,
as the emphasis was entirely on the skating scenes. But with
little setup for the characters, the audience cares nothing
for them, and you will care even less for the film.
Gareth
Von Kallenbach
Gareth@nwlink.com
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