the plot: In the distant future, a series of “eco wars” has left Earth dry and desolate. A brutal organization known as the E-Protectorate maintains tight control over water rations and forces all children to live in “orphanages” where they undergo conditioning in order to become productive members of the E-Police. Children are allowed only a few luxuries, and one of their rewards is the game skateball. Jason (Patric) is the leader of the Solarbabies skateball squad, a ragtag team of misfits who always win, despite a lack of formal training and equipment. During a match, the team’s young mascot, Daniel (Haas) finds a mysterious glowing sphere in an underground cavern. Darstar (Pasdar), a friend of the Solarbabies, believes the sphere is magic and steals it. He flees into the desert and the Solarbabies follow, convinced that the sphere can help restore water to the dry planet. But it’s not long before their journey is interrupted by Grock (Jordan), a sadistic E-Police commander determined to claim the sphere—and destroy it.

why it’s good: Of all the visions of the future to be committed to film, “Solarbabies” might be one of the most ridiculous. Why, in a world where everyone lives in a desert, would people choose roller skates as their primary mode of transportation instead of, say, walking, which is a guaranteed method of desert travel? But roller skates are the hook upon which “Solarbabies” hangs, and our plucky young heroes are given plenty of opportunities to use their skills in skateball, a cross between roller derby and lacrosse that’s probably on TV right now, on the same ESPN channel that airs spelling bees and billiards competitions. Everyone in the future, it seems, wears roller skates at some point, except for the E-Police attack dogs, but they have flashlights strapped to their heads, so it all evens out. If you can wrap your head around the skate-fixated future, “Solarbabies” does provide some nostalgic thrills for the 1980s, but they’re few and far between. Adrian Pasdar, now better known as Nathan Petrelli on “Heroes,” is the token sorta-Native American member of the team, and British comedian Alexei Sayle has a small cameo as a goofy bounty hunter. But there’s too much going on, and none of it makes sense, least of all the lingering question about where the planet’s water went—it was all dammed up, apparently, which isn’t so bad, as far as post-apocalyptic scenarios go. As the Solarbabies make their way to the E-Protectorate’s headquarters (which slightly resembles the Hoover Dam), they pass through one desert settlement that’s straight out of “Mad Max” and an oasis that has some vague “Xanadu” leanings. If global warming turns out to deliver the kind of future “Solarbabies” promises, we all better start logging some serious hours at the roller rink in preparation.

why you should own it: If you have fond childhood memories of “Solarbabies,” it may be worth picking up, but otherwise, there are other quasi-post-apocalyptic sci-fi flicks that don’t rely so heavily on the healing power of roller skates.