Rollerball

PG-13

Released Feb 8, 2002

1 hr. 38 min.

Action

List

3%

119 Reviews

Tomatometer

14%

25,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Jonathan (Chris Klein) is the most popular player in the fastest and most extreme sport of all time: rollerball. Along with teammates Marcus (LL Cool J) and Aurora (Rebecca Romijn-Stamos), Jonathan is giving viewers what they want: visceral thrills, breakneck speed, and head-slamming action. Things go wrong when rollerball's creator, Petrovich (Jean Reno), realizes that serious on-court accidents bring higher ratings. Soon Jonathan and his friends are playing for their lives.

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Critics Consensus

Removing the social critique of the original, this updated version of Rollerball is violent, confusing, and choppy. Klein makes for a bland hero.

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Jarrod R

A mess. There were a handful of creative choices that were compelling, but it much of the story just zipped around the track aimlessly. It was if they had a tried and true recipe for a biting deconstuction of "corporations have too much power and will attempt to win at all costs" narrative (which is what the original movie captures), but this was mostly fluff. Not even bad enough to be enjoyable. And yes, I have the How Did This Get Made folks to thank/blame for sitting through it.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/30/24

Full Review

Edward K

Terrible remake of the first film. It failed to hold my attention.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

01/03/24

Full Review

Audience Member

This movie is very boring but the stunts in this movie are amazing

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

01/05/23

Full Review

Audience Member

This film is sadly a missed opertunity. It does do a good job giving the old film a modern update and the cast was pretty solid as well. Sadly the film doesn't have nearly enough character development so the motivations for the villian are not even clear. This film also has very little social or political commentary which was the best part of the original.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

10/04/22

Full Review

victor o

I have a habit of watching movies that are remade without having seen the original. More often than not I enjoy the remake but there are moments where I prefer the original. This one looked pretty good to me. I enjoyed the action, the sets, the actors, and the story. But there were plenty of things that I disliked and over time I began to realize the criticism was valid. Later I learned from the making of the movie that this had a monster of time in development that ended up making things that did stick out like a sore thumb. In the near future, a brand-new sport is making waves across the Atlantic called Rollerball. A hard-hitting, popular team sport that is attracting players as well as media attention from all over the world. Jonathan and Marcus are two Americans that ditch their California street skating to become highly paid athletes of Rollerball. Only because the sport is brand new and unregulated in Eastern European and Asian circles, particularly by a vicious promoter named Alexis. Jonathan also gains the attention of a gorgeous player named Aurora who learns just like him that these games are dangerous beyond what happens in the arena. Worked to make Alexis as much money and power, the players are doomed to either disgrace or death. Unless of course, they find a way to fight back. I originally enjoyed watching this movie. With a great cast like Chris Klein, LL Cool J, Rebecca Romijn, Jean Reno and so many other great performers. Not to mention directed by John McTiernan, the man who directed two Die Hard movies, the first Predator movie and The Hunt for Red October. So, it was surprising to me that this movie wasn't as good as it should have been. I still like a lot of things about it but also plenty of bad things here that make it hard to watch.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

robert p

Again this movie was made for teenagers and kids but teaches the wrong ways to act in public or in private, thus my 1 and 1/2 stars rating!

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

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John McTiernan

Director

Chris Klein

Jonathan Cross

Jean Reno

Petrovich

LL Cool J

Marcus Ridley

Rebecca Romijn

Aurora

Naveen Andrews

Sanjay

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Joshua Rothkopf

In These Times

Rollerball is an unbelievable bomb, but one of the most educational-revealing corporate desperation at its vulgar low.

Mar 16, 2020

Full Review

Keith Phipps

AV Club

Only those attracted to Waterworld- or Last Action Hero-level big-budget disasters need bother with this one.

Mar 26, 2013

Full Review

David Germain

Associated Press

Loud, crude and outlandish, Rollerball is a parody of itself, a frenzy of extreme-sports stunts masquerading as social commentary on violence and the corporate forces that feed off it.

Mar 26, 2013

Full Review

Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

…a stew of bare breasts, ear-piercing noise, muddy violence and incoherence…

Rated: 1/5

Nov 30, 2023

Full Review

Film4

A dire re-working of the provocative 1975 sci-fi satire.

Mar 26, 2013

Full Review

Felix Vasquez Jr.

Cinema Crazed

This is a terrible big-budget fiasco with a go nowhere plot and terrible cast.

Apr 29, 2009

Full Review

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Synopsis

Jonathan (Chris Klein) is the most popular player in the fastest and most extreme sport of all time: rollerball. Along with teammates Marcus (LL Cool J) and Aurora (Rebecca Romijn-Stamos), Jonathan is giving viewers what they want: visceral thrills, breakneck speed, and head-slamming action. Things go wrong when rollerball's creator, Petrovich (Jean Reno), realizes that serious on-court accidents bring higher ratings. Soon Jonathan and his friends are playing for their lives.

Director: John McTiernan
Executive Producer: Michael Tadross
Screenwriter: Larry Ferguson, John Pogue, William Harrison, William Harrison
Distributor: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Production Co: Toho-Towa, Mosaic Media Group, Metro Goldwyn Mayer, Yorktown Productions, Atlas Entertainment, Helkon Media AG
Rating: PG-13 (Language|Extreme Sports Action|Sensuality|Some Drug References|Violence)
Genre: Action
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 8, 2002, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 1, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $19.0M
Sound Mix: Dolby SR, DTS, Dolby Stereo, Surround, Dolby A, Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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