Product: Rollerball (2002)
Rating: 4.0
Better than Expected
The original 1975 film provoked thought about society and how mankind chose comfort over free choice. This movie is more about the trouncing of participants in the roller derby sport I used to watch on 1970's television. So the only things in common between the two films are the name and the fact a ball rolls around a rink in a violent sport.If one can disassociate the first film from this one, then this version can actually be fun. In a brief synopsis, the star rollerballer in a central asian ring discovers that the league ownership is manipulating television ratings by staging violent scenes on the rink. When he and a fellow American (played adequately by LL Cool J) decide to save their own necks by fleeing to the boarder, they are hunted down by the Russian thugs before they can make good their escape. The inclusion of a Dutch motorcyclist, played by Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, provided the movie with a love interest.The final game is a bit unrealistic as the wounded star, played by Chris Klein who surprisingly looks like a junior Keanu Reeves, stays alive on the rink long enough to confront his opponents in the front office.All in all, better than I expected, as long as I kept in mind it was not the same as the original.