Rollerball 1975 Movie

This had been on my to-watch-list for years. The premise is captivating, but unfortunately I was very underwhelmed. The most popular review on Letterboxd about this movie is spot on, as is another comment about not believing they made a film about rollerball boring. Apart from the spherical old Audi building nothing really makes you feel like you're watching a futuristic movie, and I doubt it truly had that effect in 1975. The sport itself isn't that exciting or completely explained with the close ups during the sport annoying me as I wanted more of an idea of what was happening around the arena. Now to the crowd: There are shots where the crowd is empty in sections. There is a wide shot towards the end of the film and it's clear that the stands are only about 1/6th filled for the close ups of the supporters cheering. I never got the feeling the sport was that popular. They didn't do a good job portraying that. Why have this extremely violent sport when no one cares? Maybe there was a comment I missed about everyone watching on TV... I don't know. We're also meant to believe that the crowd is completely silent for a minute in the chaos at the end of the final game... The final zoom in shot is weird too... There are also many scenes away from the sport that feel like filler and the message the writers and director were trying to pass on to the viewer are unclear. The director, Jewison, wasn't pleased to learn that it encouraged people to try and play the sport rather than be influenced by his intended anti-violence message. The only thing that keeps you kind of interested is asking why the bigwigs are trying to force the ageing veteran Jonathan E out of the sport.