Double Bill: Arena (1989) and Rollerball (1975)

(Contains some spoilers)

Arena (1989)

God I loved this film as a kid. As a massive Wresting and Sci-Fi fan this just ticked all the boxes. A human fighting Creatures in an Arena to become Champion of the Universe… Give me a Hell Yeah!

As an adult, it’s still thoroughly enjoyable, but I can’t help but feel it could have been a little more. That’s not a criticism as its still a low budget Italian Sci-Fi from the eighties so I don’t have wild expectations, but its one of those movies where the concept is greater than the end product.

However, the movies still got a lot going for it. The monster mashes are unlike most things I’ve seen, the world building with the Arena ship and all the entertainment on board is cool. I like the relationship between Armstrong and Shorty. Plenty of future sci-fi stars from Babylon 5 and Star Trek are involved. It’s got a certain charm about it which I like.

The creature designs and makeup are the standout aspect to me. We’ve got Wolfs, lizards, fishes, robots, all in fighting form, it’s great fun. Feels like a hybrid at times as well with plenty of Golden Aged looking sci-fi stuff like Spinner, the costumes, and room designs, mixed with the campy fun and themes of the eighties.

It doesn’t quite do enough with the oppressive ruler and under dog story, but what you going to do? The main villain is very villainy, his rat/weasel sidekick is slimy, and the femme fatale is exactly that. The movie hits all the beats you’d expect from a low budget Rocky in Space, and as mentioned, has plenty of good ideas along the way.

It was a film I always wanted to rewrite myself. I saw a remake was made many years ago but from the screenshots it doesn’t look anything like this––so maybe my dream of remaking it myself is still alive lol.

Arena definitely has its place in that post Star Wars Sci-Fi world. There aren’t enough Sci-Fi sports movies in the modern era, and I found this one of the better ones back when they were being made. It’s not a classic, but it’s not complete trash either. It sits nicely in that sweet spot where its still very watchable and a decent sci-fi to chuck on from time to time.

Rollerball (1975)

I can’t think of a more meaty, beefy, macho sports movie than Rollerball. It’s brutal from start to finish, both in the sport itself, and its presentation of the future.

The movie goes at its own pace which I must admit I enjoyed a lot more this time round than when I first watched it in my early twenties. Maybe it’s the bleakness of it all, but something about this movie speaks to me a lot more now than it did back then.

The opening sequence feels incredibly cinematic, a patiences to the first act since lost in movies. Then, the Tokyo match is savage. Brutality at its finest. Whatever we thought we knew about the sport, forget it, the rules have literally already changed. Now, we have fist fights, outright muggings, bike’s exploding, crowd riots, competitors set on fire, and corpses littering the track––Well that escalated. And, it only gets crazier by the time we reach New York. Not to mention poor Moon Pie getting goosed ten years before Top Gun was even made.

James Cain’s performance was stoic. The ambiguously vague story centres around his demanded retirement, and refusal. The sport was meant to show us at our worse, keep us under corporate control, not martyr it star. His defiance grows throughout the film climaxing in an insane set piece which both infuriates and inspires. Can’t keep a superstar down.

I’ve always enjoyed seeing the different takes in Futurism movies and Rollerball’s one is definitely up there as one of the more miserable predictions. Despite its sports sub-genre this movie weirdly had plenty to say, no-more so than when a bunch of socialites where shooting down trees with a laser gun for kicks, or wiping out a whole century's history because the AI felt like it.

It’s not a movie for everyone, but I think it’s aged really well. Not something you’d watch for a laugh––that’s probably more the remake if memory serves––this one wants you to feel forlorn, while also enjoying blood-thirty, barbaric, red-blooded violences. It succeeded in both.