Review of Rollerball (2002) by Paul Q — 29 Jul 2008

The premise, that rival corporations openly run the world and that the sport Rollerball is used as a substitute for war AND as a constant reminder that the individual cannot triumph, is a great one, though the film itself doesn't live up to it.

It's not for lack of action sequences; the three Rollerball games shown become increasingly chaotic and violent as the rules are gradually removed in order to ensure the superstar played by James Caan cannot win and prove to the public the power of the individual over the corporation.

The shortcoming is that there isn't any role for the public to play here. I don't have any sense of how Rollerball manipulates its viewers, which is central to the theme. The players are, well, just players in a game, and too much time is given to them, which is a shame, since the actors portraying them don't do much to bring them to life.

James Caan is either badly miscast or misinterprets his role, although he's physically suited to the sport, something akin to roller derby crossed with hockey and motocross. He doesn't really suggest an individual aching to be free from the chains of corporate comfort.

(His assigned lover, played by Barbara Trentham, is the only character who hints at this, with bubbling sorrow and rage.) Ralph Richardson is a hoot as a coot in charge of some sort of liquid computer that won't give out any unapproved information.

My favorite scene was the party, where the stupidity of the players and the vapidity of executive lifestyle sunk in, especially when the drug-addled guests wandered into the dawn to destroy a row of trees with explosive target practice.

It was also fun to see the 1975 vision of the future. You'll love the omnipresent font on everything. It's very seventies-futuristic, like so much of the film. It's almost three stars on that count alone.