'70s sci-fi movies were heavily preoccupied with violent, dystopian future societies and technology run amok (think Logan's Run, or the original feature film Westworld), and 1975's Rollerball was no different. The story centered on the titular futuristic sport, a sort of combination of roller derby and hockey which devolves into gladatorial violence under the influence of sinister global corporations. The 2002 remake could have used the real-world corporate consolidation of the intervening years to add layers of political nuance to the story, but they did not. Instead, screenwriters Larry Ferguson and John Pogue delivered a "spectacle film" that's endlessly confusing to look at, a "political thriller" that lacks any semblance of a clear message, and — most egregious of all — a flick from Die Hard director John McTiernan featuring the most muddled action sequences in recent memory.
It's a film that can't be bothered with clarity, even in regards to the rules of its fictional sport. It's full of plot threads that go nowhere, bizarre aesthetic choices (such as one scene apparently shot in night vision), and terrible, confusing dialogue delivered poorly. The film grossed about $19 million on its budget of $70 million, leaving Roger Ebert to once again survey the damage: "Rollerball" "is an incoherent mess, a jumble of footage in search of plot, meaning, rhythm and sense. There are bright colors and quick movement on the screen, which we can watch as a visual pattern that, in entertainment value, falls somewhere between a kaleidoscope and a lava lamp."
