- Rollerball (2002 film)
Infobox Film | name = Rollerball
caption = "Rollerball" promotional poster
director =John McTiernan
producer = John McTiernanCharles Roven Beau St. Clair
writer =Larry Ferguson John Pogue
starring = Chris KleinJean Reno LL Cool J Rebecca Romijn Naveen Andrews
music =Julianne Jordan Laura Z. Wasserman
Alecia Moore
cinematography =
editing =
distributor =United States
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
InternationalSony Pictures
released =February 8 ,2002 (USA)
runtime = 98 min.
language = English
budget = $70,000,000
imdb_id = 0246894"Rollerball" is a
2002 remake of the1975 science fiction film of the same name. This updated 'remake' of the film was directed byJohn McTiernan and has a much greater concentration on action and more muted social and political overtones. Unlike the first film, it takes place in the present rather than a seeminglydystopian future.It features cameo appearances by P!nk,
Paul Heyman ,Shane McMahon andSlipknot .Upon its release, the film met with harsh critical disdain and poor box-office returns (less than $26M revenue world-wide on a film that cost $70M). As a guest on "
Late Night with Conan O'Brien ", LL Cool J admitted that the film "sucked." Originally rated "PG-13 " by theMPAA when released in theaters, it was rerated R when released onVHS andDVD due to MGM reinserting footage that was edited out to get the "PG-13" certification.Cast
*Chris Klein - Jonathan Cross
*LL Cool J - Marcus Ridley
*Rebecca Romijn - Aurora
*Oleg Taktarov - Oleg Denekin
*Jean Reno - Alexi Petrovich
*Naveen Andrews - Sanjay
*Paul Heyman - Sports Announcer
*Mike Dopud - Michael 'The AssassinPlot
It's the year 2005; the new sport of Rollerball is hugely popular in the ex-Soviet republics of
Central Asia ,Russia , China,Mongolia , andTurkey . Marcus Ridley (LL Cool J ) invites NHL-hopeful Jonathan Cross (Chris Klein) to join him playing for the Zhambel Horsemen, inKazakhstan . The highly paid Marcus and Jonathan are teamed with low-paid locals, who are routinely severely injured in the game, which is an extraordinarily violent extension of roller derby involving motorcycles, a metal ball, and many trappings of the World Wrestling Federation. Soon the team's star and the darling of promoter Alexi Petrovich (Jean Reno ), Jonathan, is thrilled by the high-octane sport, the hype, the sports cars, and female team mate Aurora (a glowering, scar-facedRebecca Romijn-Stamos ). But gradually Jonathan discovers that the cynical Alexi and his opportunistic assistant Sanjay (Naveen Andrews ) will go to any lengths to manipulate the game in order to provide an evermore gory spectacle and improve the game's television ratings.oundtrack
The score was released, but the soundtrack was not.
# "Boom" –
P.O.D.
# "Told You So" –Drowning Pool
# "Ride " – Beautiful Creatures
# "Millionaire" – Rappagariya
# "I Am Hated" – Slipknot
# "Body Go" –Hardknox
# "Feel So Numb " –Rob Zombie
# "Keep Away" –Godsmack
# "Insane in the Brain " -Sen Dog
# "Flashpoint " -Fear Factory
# "When I Come Around " -Green Day
# "Crawling in the Dark " -Hoobastank
# "Time To Play" - Pillar
# "Never Gonna Stop (The Red Red Kroovy) " -Rob Zombie Reception
The film was almost universally panned, with review collation website
Rotten Tomatoes scoring it at 4%.Time Out 's Trevor Johnson described it as "a checklist shaped by a 15-year-old mallrat: thrashing metal track, skateboards, motorbikes, cracked heads and Rebecca Romijn-Stamos with her top off", whileChicago Sun-Times reviewerRoger Ebert called it "an incoherent mess, a jumble of footage in search of plot, meaning, rhythm and sense".External links
*imdb title|id=0246894|title=Rollerball
*rotten-tomatoes|id=rollerball|title=Rollerball
*mojo title|id=rollerball|title=Rollerball
* [http://moonbooks.net/scifi/rollerball-murder/ Science Fiction Radio Theater - Rollerball Murder] Rollerball Murder Audio Drama
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