Rollerball (2002 film)

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Rollerball (2002) is a science fiction action sports movie directed by John McTiernan. It is a remake of the 1975 film, which was based on William Harrison’s short story Roller Ball Murder. The film stars Rebecca Romijn, Chris Klein, Jean Reno, LL Cool J, and Naveen Andrews.

Story and setting
In the mid-2000s, a violent sport called Rollerball becomes popular around the world. Jonathan Cross, a talented player, joins the Zhambel Horsemen team in Kazakhstan along with Marcus Ridley. The sport is run by rich promoters who want big crowds and fast money. One teammate is killed during a game, and Jonathan discovers the deaths are planned to boost ratings. Promoter Alexi Petrovich and his assistant Sanjay push the violence to keep Rollerball exciting. Jonathan and Ridley try to escape, but their plan falls apart. After many betrayals, Ridley is killed, and Jonathan is forced to continue playing for Alexi if Aurora, his love interest, can be moved to another team. In a climactic match, Alexi tries to erase the rules, making the game even more deadly. Jonathan rebels with help from other players, ends up killing Alexi and Sanjay, and is reunited with Aurora.

Production notes
The movie was filmed for about 15 weeks in 2000. The script was heavily rewritten to emphasize flashy showmanship and stunts, moving away from social commentary. Test audiences in Las Vegas gave negative feedback, leading MGM to push back the release date and redo parts of the film. About 30 minutes were cut, and the ending was re-shot. The score by Brian Transeau was replaced with music by Éric Serra, and some scenes were altered to fit a PG-13 rating.

Release and reception
Rollerball was released on February 8, 2002. It had a production budget of about $70 million and grossed around $25.9 million, making it a box-office disappointment. Critics overwhelmingly panned the film: Rotten Tomatoes gave it only 3% approval, and Metacritic scored it 14 out of 100. Audiences gave it a mixed grade of B− from CinemaScore. Reviewers described the film as confusing and violent, with some calling the storytelling weak and noting that the remake lacked the social depth of the original.

Cameos and legacy
The film features cameos by Pink, Slipknot, and Shane McMahon. The director later faced legal trouble unrelated to the film’s story: in 2013, John McTiernan was sentenced to a year in prison for making false statements to federal investigators in a separate matter.

Notes
Despite its flashy action and recognizable cast, Rollerball (2002) is generally remembered as a costly failure that moved away from the themes of the original and did not win over critics or audiences.