Dude Hagen, you fucking missed the point of ROLLERBALL. Then again, considering the fact that you gave a 3/5 score rating to 12 friggin MONKEYS, I shouldn't be surprised.

If anything, Jewison's ROLLERBALL is science fiction in the classic sense, a drama that examines the possible higher-tech future of a world where individualism is de-valued, where basic civil liberties and freedoms are given up in exchange for security, food, energy, and very nice materialistic shit. While this seemed sci-fi-ish in the 70's, we see the Chinese government trying to "bribe" the ever growing middle class in that country with TVs, BMWs, and DVDs. Besides, with good shit and food, why bother protesting for things like the right to a fair trial?

While Hagen you apparently wanted Sonny Corleone kicking ass on a roller disco ring(and if that had happened, the movie would have been quiet dated dreck), Caan is perfectly restrained as a guy that despite being this legendary and popular sports hero, he still doesn't have individual freedom. They take his wife away, and there is nothing he can do about it. Apparently his character though take his mind off his pain and misery with Rollerball, but when they try to take THAT away from him as well, that is when he decides that enough is enough.

That is the point of the ending. The plan of the corporate cabal to either kill Caan or force him to quit backfires quite goloriusly, and Caan's character becomes bigger as an individual hero to the masses than he was before. He isn't just a badass sports legend anymore. He's a universal hero of defiance and struggle. For once in this conformist future, individualism reigns supreme.

Then there is other details of the movie I dig. While you probably only saw 70's art-deco(which I can't defend), there is ideas that I loved and make this truely good sci-fi(that is, not sci-fi to excuse for fucking action scenes) movie. Among other things, the fact that whoever possesses knowledge rules. Information of the past is cleansed and censored by the corporate cabal, since the masses can't dare to have the idea that despite the problems of the past, individual freedoms might have been like good.

Or better yet, the concept of how women are used in the future. While on the surface, it appears to be a misogynist future...well, it sorta is. But you see these women as part of the "Leisure" sector, but yet the head of that industry is a member of the global ruling cabal. What the hell is going on? Then you notice moments when these women display intelligence. What this future in this story is what unfortunately we may be seeing right now.

Women that are obviously smart, but have to repress it in public in order to be the beautiful, fuckable sticks that society wants them to be. Dear lord, I see girls that puke their intestines out so that they might be a pound thinner, or regress from being the smart and mature beings of elementary/middle school to that of bimbos in college.

Now Hagen, what about the beginning sequence? I know you was confused because you probably didn't understand the point of it, but its clear. While it takes time, when some of us use our noggins, we start to understand how this game works. Instead of doing some dumbass montage explaining the rules(which the lousy remake did), we learn by visuals how it works. Obviously its a sport where one needs the blade-speed of Ice Hockey, the absolute teamwork of Football(soccer), the rough and tumble tackling of both American Football and Rugby, and so on.

Jewison's ROLLERBALL is one of the two best pre-STAR WARS "smart" science fiction pictures that Hollywood made in the 1970s, along with Lucas' THX 1138. Unlike the action-oriented sillyness of OMEGA MAN and SOYLENT GREEN(which I'm sure you would love Hagen, since both are made just so Hagen can kick vampire and homeless ass), ROLLERBALL is a movie worthy of science fiction.

ROLLERBALL (1975) - ****

P.S. - Too much dialogue? Too much action? Come on, your definitions of "sci-fi drama" and sports movies are that narrow? Besides, ROLLERBALL was a sci-fi drama WITH sports action.

I hope God helps you if you ever watch Frakenheimer's 3-hour Formula-One drama WITH action that was GRAND PRIX.