Product Details

• Actors: Chris Klein, Jean Reno, LL Cool J, Rebecca Romijn, Naveen Andrews
• Directors: John McTiernan
• Writers: John Pogue, Larry Ferguson, William Harrison
• Producers: John McTiernan, Beau St. Clair, Charles Roven, Michael Tadross
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, DVD, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
• DVD Release Date: June 18, 2002
• Run Time: 98 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 1.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (76 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00003CXTD
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #22,534 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Rollerball" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

From the director of Die Hard comes this high-octane thriller that roars along at a breakneck pace (Los Angeles Times)! Starring Chris Klein (American Pie), Jean Reno (Ronin), LL Cool J (Charlie's Angels) and Rebecca Romijn-Stamos (X-Men), Rollerball goes full-throttle with excitement from its death-defying opening until its explosive end! Jonathan Cross (Klein) is the newest recruit in the most extreme sport of all time where his fast moves and killer looks make him an instant superstar. But Cross life in the fast lane collides with reality when he learns that the league's owner (Reno) is orchestrating serious on-court accidents to boost ratings. Now Cross plans to take down the owner and his ruthless sport before the game puts an end to him!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A failure of "Battlefield Earth" proportions!, July 2, 2002

By	Star Sailor "Worldwide Traveler" (Whidbey Island, WA) - See all my reviews

I should say, "worse than Battlefield Earth proportions!" This whole movie makes you just sit there at the end and go, "why?" Everything about this convoluted, sarcastic, beefed up, badly edited tripe is confusing to watch, poorly executed and loses you 10 minutes into the film. You are introduced to boring characters, cliched camera angles and material we all know John Mcteirnan is far more capable of. I was thankful I got to rent this instead of buying it because quite frankly this movie just plain stinks! If you really want to see the real "Rollerball" rent (don't buy) the original. The original has a much stronger story and for cryin out loud-James Caan! He's a legend man!! I don't know what kind of future Chris Klein has in movies but as far as action movies go, let's just put it this way, we already have Keanu Reeves and quite bluntly, he's a much better actor. Steer clear and save your money!

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Perfect example of why there is no need to remake ANYTHING.., July 15, 2002

By	[e-mail] (Leominster, MA) - See all my reviews

Rollerball is a remake of a 1975 science fiction film of the same name that only succeeds in showing what the world would be like if the XFL had become the rage. With how many problems this movie had in production, it was a surprise to see it touch theatres.
Chris Klein, LL Cool J, and Rebecca Romijn-Stamos all phone in their roles as rollerbladers in a high stakes game that is televised worldwide. The cookie-cutter nemesis is played by Jean Reno as the owner and general manager of the tournaments. And with John McTiernan (director of Die Hard) at the helm, the whole thing is unexcusable. It looks like he is well past his prime.
In the original, the hard-core sport of Rollerball was a way for the ruling government of the world to show that individual effort was useless and futile, and only ended in death. In this unworthy remake, the ruling corporations are replaced by managers of the game with no other motive than to get higher ratings and greater profits.
This action disaster takes no hints from it's predecessor. The James Caan version was timeless, using classical music to keep the movie from being dated and holding the action with a very well-done sci-fi backstory. This is a movie filled with pop music that doesn't even fit the action and a barely-there plot that is filled with unnecessary car races and entirely unexciting action scenes.
The game consists of rolling around a figure eight track with the help of rollerblades and teammates on motorcycles, trying to beat the other team by throwing a steel ball into a large gong. Unlike the strategy and planning that went into the original's gameplay, this version looks like a circus. The action is filled with slapstick falls and dubbed-in lines with the actors not even openning their mouths. Somehow it manages to be entirely unexciting, with even the announcer looking bored and immersed on and off. Spills look entirely unrealistic and overplayed, while music completely unfitting the action drones loudly. Costumes look like chromed rejects from cirque de solei, with oversized helmets looking downright silly. All in all, for a movie named after a game, no thought was put in and these are the worst parts of the movie.
The plot jumps from here to there constantly with characters changing their standings instantly; leaving the viewer without a clue as to anyone's personality. To bring the movie up to an R rating after it's PG-13 theatrical run, unnecessary bare breasts and dubbed-in language have been placed rampantly. Cinematography during the action sequences is indecipherable, with horrible editing added in.
By the time you get to the car chase filmed in night-vision and textbook face-off at the end, you realize some movies are great on their own and don't need an updating - they are great as they are. Do yourself a favor and pick up the original for a great action-science-ficiton romp that has brains and brawn.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars If you value your sanity do not see this film., November 16, 2005

By	R. Mansfield (AZ) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I'll keep it short and simple.

At least for me, there are moments in life that redefine pain and pleasure. A point that you can use to envy or be thankful for. Like if you won the lottery. I'm sure that every good thing that happened to you from then on would be slightly paler in comparison. You might get a free bun from cinabon and think, "Mmmm, this is a good bun...but it's not as good as that one time I won the lottery.

Rollerball is the opposite of winning the lottery. If the lottery was where once a year someone was picked to get puched in the face on world-wide television, and one year it happened to be you, the feeling you would get of dread and unjustice would be close to how it feels to watch Rollerball. Rollerball redefined pain for me. Last month I had a horrible case of the stomach flu and spent most of 2 days staring into the toilet. During that time I was seriously thankful that at least I wasn't watching Rollerball.

I guess that is at least one benefit of the movie, and justifies it getting one star. Now all the bad things that happen to me don't seem to be that bad anymore. Car Accident? Well at least I'm not watching Rollerball...Pet Died? At least the pet is in a place where I am sure this movie does not exist...Forget to pay the rent and get kicked out of your appartment? You get the picture.

Money spent on paying someone to physically harm you is money better spent than buying Rollerball. Because Rollerball hurts you in more ways :(