This was 90 minutes of pure hell.
I didn't like it very well.
A new candidate arises not so keen
for the worst movie I've ever seen.
For guys that like to wrestle
and whose brains have no blood vessel,
or who like to play hockey
and heads are dense and rocky,
this movie would be great
and the adrenaline first rate.
But members of civilized society
of a more intelligent variety
will tend to be bored to snot
with the very predictable plot.
How long can an hour and a half be?
This film made it feel like three.
Roller skaters and motorcycles don't mate
on a track small and figure eight.
If I had the night over again
I'd have gone home before ten.
I'll not be buying the DVD
no matter how cheap it be.
The presentation was top notch
with not a single botch.
I seriously beg of all of you
not to emulate this style of review.
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Evans A Criswell
Huntsville-Decatur Movie Theatre Information Site
We are not getting that movie, so I have no previews or One-Sheets to even look at.
(Honestly, you made that up during the show you were so bored, didn't ya? 
)
just my opinion....
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- dave
I want that North American cable deal!
quote:
Evans, with reviews like that you might just make a name for yourself and end up getting a full
time gig out of it.(Honestly, you made that up during the show you were so bored, didn't ya? )
About being bored -- during one point, I put my head back on the seat and closed my eyes. I was a bit tired, since this was my second movie attended that night (quite a rare thing for me to do). I'm not too fond of that kind of violence. Maybe bored wasn't the right word. Maybe "indifferent" was better. I really didn't care what happened in the movie. I just occasionally looked at my watch to see how much of it was left. I was sitting in the back row of one of the two largest auditoriums in the place.
And no, I'm not going to try to make too many postings in poem form. I was just in one of those moods last night.
Sorry if I am sounding a bit harsh, but that is just my opinion.
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Let...me know...if you see..a Radio Shack...
2 F**king customers and this show is in our biggest house. Well until tomorrow anyway.
I guess if this is supposed to be an adolescent fantasy comic book/movie aimed at a very unsophisticated 12-18 year old MTV crowd, it kind of works on that level. Lots of smash-cut editing (action sequences are basically incomprehensible), stilted comic book dialog, and accompanied throughout by very loud music and sound effects (I actually liked the sound mix, and it does need to be played loud). Unfortunately I think this is supposed to be a serious action flick, and on that level it is ludicrous. If the end result is what John McTiernan intended, I am at a loss to explain his other good movies like Die Hard. I'm surprised he didn't remove his name from it and let them say it was directed by Allen Smithee.
[If the name Allen Smithee isn't familiar: Many movies have been released with the director "Allen Smithee" in the credits, a ficticious name. This was done when the real director was so unhappy with the final cut of the film that he refused to have his name associated with it. See http://www.abc.net.au/rn/arts/atoday/stories/s353584.htm for the story on Mr. Smithee.]
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- dave
I want that North American cable deal!
>>A few of the adjectives being used to describe John McTiernan's Rollerball remake: "Shockingly awful and incoherent" -- Gary Thompson, Philadelphia Daily News; "Boring and ... obvious" -- Elvis Mitchell, New York Times; "Painful, mostly lame" -- Jonathan Foreman New York Post; "An incoherent mess," -- Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times; "Loud, violent and mindless" -- Tom Maurstad, Dallas Morning News.<<
Bring on the original in four track mag kids. You'll make a mint.
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"It's not the years honey, it's the mileage". - Indiana Jones.
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Brad, you're pretty darn Chipper yourself!!!
Paul, this movie is not a spin-off but a remake of its predecessor ROLLERBALL and it starred JAMES CAAN and not gene hackman. The original is a far superior film, to this version and to many other films in general.
The original dealt with a corporate controlled society that did not allow individual achievement. James Caan became just what they abhorred and retired him without his consent. WHen he refused to retire, they began to change the rules and allow for death matches, killing his best friend in the world. It was a great movie taking a look at the world of politics and how they relate to the world of sports and how power in general denies individualism.
As to this movie should have been an allen smitthee film, that name has now been removed from consideration from the directors guild. There was a major controversy with the film American History X, where the director, tony kaye, unsuccessfully sued New Line to get more time to reshoot and edit further the film. After that he applied for an Alan Smithee credit from the guild and was denied. The guilds long standing secret was out, and so was the name.
Now the guild, if appropriate, will allow a director to submit five acceptable suedonyms, and the guild will either accept or decline. If they accept, they pick the seudonym, and then it can never be used again.
As to why john mcteirnan didnt take his name off? Ask him! Most directors will not even bother asking the guild anymore, too complicated, and the rules to get one have changed. YOu have to prove that your original vision was compromised by forces outside of your control, and with this film, that didnt happen. It was a good idea, but the plotline was bad from the get go.
All directors have a bad film or two, even lucas, speilberg, ron howard, and yes, even the famed Robert Wise of sound of music, west side story fame. He directed Star Trek, the motion picture. There was even the guy who directed the horrible DUNE theatrical movie, I forget his name.
Dave
Highly Underated. Most people seem to hate it, but i thought it was wicked
Plenty of plot and good action sequences. And I nice ten minute long green night screen sequence during the middle. Nice to see Jean Reno being a bit of a bad dude. Chris Klien's best film.
Shame it seems to have been released with very little advertising in the UK. It opened yesturday. Turns out it was in a small screen (all the big screens at the multiplex's are still Spiderman and Star Wars.) And the 6:15 performance was pretty much deserted. Bad advertisng for a good film.
Go See it. You will be surprised.
*Puts his flame retardent jacket on*
Aesthetically, I think that this film was a major leap for McTiernan. One of the reasons why things like DIE HARD and THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER work so well is because the audience has a very clear sense of what is going on at all times. You know who's who, you know what they're doing, and you know where they are in relation to each other. His films tend to be very classical in their editing style, relying on long takes (at least for an action movie) as opposed to smash cuts. But with ROLLERBALL, he went completely in the opposite direction. His goal with this film was to create a sense pure chaos, and he does, by cutting it up like a mofo! It'll be interesting to see where he goes from here. If he sticks to this style and abandons the classical one, I'll be dissappointed. But I do hope that he will use this style as a tool when it's appropriate.
I also like his willingness to experiment with certain things, like the night vision sequence, which worked for me, and his use of dialogue in order to convey emotion rather than information. He talks about this on the commentary for DIE HARD. I have a feeling that the studio forced him to compromise a bit, but when it's there, it works.
This is definitely a good movie and now, especially with R-rated cut in stores (at least in America, anyway) you should check it out.
)the original is miles better!! and way more violent too (!).