Truly Dreadful Film

Such a frustrating disappointment

A Brilliant Conflict

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

People will see what they want to see in films, especially when it comes to metaphorical sci-fi, and many clearly see profound greatness in this dystopian 1975 film set in, amusingly, 2018. But what I saw when watching "Rollerball" was an inert, dreary film that establishes a central conceit early on and then spends the rest of its lengthy running time not developing that conceit at all.James Caan is zoned out in the central role of a celebrity Rollerball player who is asked by the shadowy corporate entities who seem to run everything, and who are represented by John Houseman, to retire because he has become too famous and is setting a bad example of an individual who is becoming more powerful than the masses. Individuality is to be avoided at all costs in this Orwellian world, apparently. Of course, if Caan gave the main character anything remotely resembling a personality, this premise might be more compelling. As it is, he wanders around looking confused and mumbling barely audible lines, and we're supposed to accept that he is a symbol of individualism because.....well, just because we are. Houseman is far more watchable, if only because he varies his inflections from time to time. He and his corporate cronies are supposed to be scary, but they're not very, because when Caan refuses to retire, they seem not to have any kind of backup plan for the eventuality that he might simply refuse. The laconic torpor of the movie is somewhat alleviated once in a while by scenes of Rollerball games, but these don't do a whole lot to engage our interest because we don't know what the hell is going on during them. There's a ball, and some dudes on roller skates, and some other dudes on little scooters, and they go round and round a circular ring, and they're supposed to get the ball into a target, but beyond that we've got nothing. "Rollerball" is an example of what happens when absolutely nothing about a film works at all.Grade: D

The game of rollerball is a super-violent form of roller derby. The idea is to skate around and through a group of skaters and plant a steel ball into a tiny receptacle. James Caan's Jonathan E. is the best. He is admired by all and afforded sex and other favors for his successes. However, this sport is a microcosm of the society that has created it. For at some point, Jonathan E. will be passé and a new, more interesting person will take his place. Of course, he will need to be killed. There is no retirement from this sport or withdrawal from the culture. These athletes are owned by the bosses. It's almost like a street gang mentality. This is a film about what transpires when Jonathan begins to see the implications of his actions and realizing that the state is in control of his life.

I've just watched this film for the first time in many years, probably over 25. I remember it as being violent but compulsive viewing and it remains the same.The film is futuristic but clearly reflects the world of its time, the mid-1970s. No doubt many will be able to draw a range of pseudo-philosophical meanings from it but I prefer to be a little more simplistic. One man stands out against the corporation which aims to control both the game and the people who watch it; he threatens to become bigger than the game and the bosses want rid of him. Yes, this can be seen as an allegory for the Vietnam War and in general for the feelings of a significant part of the population of the USA at the time. In the end, the 'hero' wins, for the moment at least.The film is undoubtedly powerful and, despite a few slow moments, it is exciting; it's also quite brutal. However, by the standards of the 'cgi' world of 2015 it's actually pretty tame and there isn't really that much blood and gore. I have no idea what a modern youngish audience makes of it, but I still find it an interesting and oddly enjoyable offering.

While I may have watched this when I was younger, I don't remember much about it except that I can't help but giggle at people on roller skates—it's hard to look graceful on them and that's why I won't wear them. Well, that reason and I'll spend more time falling and picking myself off the ground than actually rolling. Anyway, I finally sat down and watched this uninterrupted…it was okay.I really liked the sequences showing the game of Rollerball (even though I still laughed at the skates and people looking like they are on the verge of having the skates come out from under them at any moment) and I felt the story was fairly decent with its themes and such. However, the film definitely feels dated and I wasn't really that into James Caan's performance. In the end though, it's not a bad Sci-Fi film from a decade that gave us some pretty timeless Sci-Fi epics.