Westworld
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Movie Reviews of Westworld
Movie Review: A classic Sci-fi film that holds up well over thirty years later
Summary: 4 Stars
My new year's resolution was to see a bunch of movies I'd always intended to see but continually seemed to miss. Somewhat belatedly I'm fulfilling my resolution, which is why I finally saw WESTWORLD. Although it was somewhat dated, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this. The film concerns Delos, a resort of the future that allows guests to visit either of three theme parks where behavior that is frowned upon in the modern world can be engaged in without repercussion. Guests engage in orgiastic sex, feasting and heavy drinking, and the killing of opponents just for the sheer fun of it. One can choose between doing this in Roman World, Medieval World, or Westworld. The film focuses primarily on two visitors to Westworld, played by Richard Benjamin and James Brolin. This was one of the last Sci-fi films made before the onset of the personal computer, yet one of the first to actually utilize computers in the making of it. According to one book I recently read, the CGI representing the vision field of the The Gunslinger robot was the first use of computers to generate images in film history. So, in this way it could be considered cutting edge. On the other hand, when things start going wrong with a number of the robots, the head of technology on Delos describes the ailment as a "disease." Today we'd obviously describe this as a virus in their software.
"Westworld" is clearly the stock Warner Brothers Western set that was used at approximately the same time by BLAZING SADDLES. This works well for the film for it gives the viewer an image that seems weirdly familiar (though understandably familiar, since it has been used in dozens of movies and hundreds of television episodes). So the visitors to the park get pretty much the Western experience prior media would have conditioned them to expect. Even the bad guys seem familiar. Yul Bryner, for instance, wears the exactly same outfit that he wore when he starred in THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN. The visitors quickly fall into the routine, James Brolin doing an obvious imitation of Clint Eastwood and Richard Benjamin quickly breaking out of the mold of somewhat nerdy lawyer. They visit the local brothel, kill the robot played by Yul Bryner a couple of times, get arrested and break out of jail and shoot the sheriff, and get drunk in the middle of a huge brawl. Then things go wrong on a major scale, with the robots going on a killing spree. The highpoint of the film is the long chase of Richard Benjamin by Yul Bryner.
A remake of WESTWORLD is currently in development. I am normally opposed to remakes. For the most part remakes are pale imitations of the originals, even in the case of most Sci-fi films. The remakes of THE INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS were inferior to the original, while the original PLANET OF THE APES is vastly superior to the remake. But this is one instance where, if done correctly, a remake could improve upon the original. The film is well done, but it was made well before computers came to dominate cultural life. As a result, the computerized control room looks absurdly primitive. For instance, there are no keyboards, but only consoles with buttons and switches and knobs. The danger, of course, is going overboard with the special effects. The temptation all too often is to go overboard with CGI and spectacular effects; in such cases story is sacrificed for spectacle. My hope is that they will keep this under control and keep enhancements at a minimum.
All in all, this was a very enjoyable and different Sci-fi film. It was directed and written by Michael Crichton and I couldn't help but think throughout it how similar the overall premise was to another Crichton creation: JURASSAIC PARK. Both deal with things going wrong at technologically advanced theme parks. Substitute dinosaurs for robots or vice versa and you have essentially the same movie.
Movie Review: Yul Brynner's dead-eyed Gunslinger elevates cheap paranoid sf thriller to a minor classic
Summary: 4 Stars
I've seen "Westworld" probably 3 or 4 times since the first time I saw it on TV in the late 70s and it never fails to entertain. The plot ought to be known to just about everybody by now, it's been parodied and recycled so many times: a couple of vacationers (James Brolin and Richard Benjamin) take a trip to Delos, the resort of the future, where one can immerse oneself fully in the experience of another time and place: WesternWorld for the American old west of 1880, MedievalWorld gives you a European castle circa 1300, and RomanWorld the villas of the Caesars. Each world is populated by amazingly life-like robots and one can do just about anything with them that one can do with real-life humans, including get into gunfights as Peter (Benjamin) finds out very early on when challenged to draw at a bar by a mysterious Gunslinger (Yul Brynner). After winning the showdown by plugging the Gunslinger three times, John (Brolin) explains to Peter that the guns they carry have sensors that don't allow them to shoot real people, so everything is perfectly safe. Until, of course, the robots go haywire...
This tense, economical thriller might be my favorite Michael Crichton work. Though he's nothing special as a director, using Cinemascope with few nods to its visual possibilities (this is his 2nd film), his screenplay cuts out all the fat in favor of building suspense and paranoia. The film alternates in its first hour or so between scenes of Peter and John and their western adventures (barfights, shootouts, hookers), the scientists in their hidden control rooms gradually becoming aware of more and more malfunctions, and occasional shots of MedievalWorld and a bumbling guest there who has been challenged to fight the Black Knight. When that swordfight goes terribly wrong, the scientists know they are too late, and as Peter finds his options rapidly dwindling, he is followed through the last third of movie by the implacable black-garbed Gunslinger who won't quit, won't give up, can't be killed.
Somewhat famous now for the first-ever use of CGI in film (Brynner's robot vision) this is really more significant for its paranoia about scientists and technology, a constant theme in Crichton's work from near the beginning of his career. In "Westworld" the cynicism about corporate greed is there as well - interesting because Crichton would later side with business in his protestations against what he saw as the global warming "scare" - and the combination of the scientist's arrogance and the Delos owners' desires to keep off bad publicity while trying to solve the problems without telling anyone is what ultimately leads to disaster. Even though at the end, Peter manages to stop the Gunslinger with a combination of acid and fire, he is left alone in an apparently dead park, and the close-up on his face at the end doesn't register relief but rather despair.
I can say I've ever been exactly a fan of 70s geeky icon Richard Benjamin, and he's rather annoying at the beginning here, constantly acting nervous and unable to enjoy himself, but he does develop into a fairly effective hero. The scientists are poorly developed and the whole behind-the-scenes section seems there mostly just to give us enough information so that we can play along....but Brynner's dead-eyed Gunslinger is unforgettable, and his remorseless hunt at the finish through western streets, Roman gardens, underground corridors and medieval castle is the main reason this film has a deserved reputation as one of the better SF films of its day. And there's no question that Arnold Schwarzenegger's "Terminator" character a decade later owes Brynner's killing machine a conceptual debt. Flawed and silly at times, and maybe a little too short and neat ultimately, this is nevertheless lots of fun and an interesting early example of its writer/director's career-long preoccupations
Movie Review: A Vacation To Die For...
Summary: 4 Stars
I've been intrigued by "Westworld" since I first saw it many years ago, but I could never find it on home video. Stores tend to carry plenty of recent science fiction releases as well as old, B-movie bargain titles, but "Westworld" seemed to have slipped through the cracks. It was therefore a nice surprise to finally find the DVD available on Amazon.com.
If you've never seen "Westworld," you've probably seen works that have been influenced by it, including "The Terminator," "Jurassic Park," and even "The Simpsons" (the episode featuring "Itchy and Scratchy Land"). "Westworld" tells the story of a high-tech, adults-only amusement park where guests can explore expertly crafted re-creations of various historic periods (such as -- you guessed it -- the Wild West), which are populated by robots who look and act just like humans. The big draw is the realistic level of interaction that the robots have been programmed for. If a guest wants to have a shootout with a robot gunslinger, he can whip out his six-shooter and fire away... and he doesn't have to worry about losing, because the robots have been programmed to never harm the guests. What could possibly go wrong?
Ah, but things do go wrong, of course, and this is where the excitement really begins. Yul Brynner's relentless, robotic gunslinger easily steals the show, though Richard Benjamin earns the viewer's sympathy as a first-time park visitor, just beginning to enjoy himself, who's suddenly forced into survival mode. The special effects are a bit dated, though it's wise to remember that this is a movie from the early 1970's that didn't have the nine-figure budget that has become the norm for today's sci-fi extravaganzas (interestingly, "Westworld" actually includes one of the earliest uses of computer-generated imagery ever seen in a movie: pixelated "point of view" shots representing robotic vision). However, "Westworld's" effects are more than sufficient to effectively tell the story.
The film, while only about 90 minutes long, takes its time to get going, and I think writer/director Michael Crichton could have shown us a little less of the human characters' adventures in Westworld before the machines went haywire (a slapstick, bottles-flying bar brawl which doesn't advance the plot is just one example of what could have been cut) and a little more of what happened afterwards. Also, it's best not to think too much about the details. For example, why are the guns loaded with real bullets? Even though it's explained that a sensor prevents the guests from shooting other humans, couldn't bullets easily go astray during a shootout? And wouldn't it be prohibitively expensive for the park to have to constantly repair all those shot-up robots?
While certain plot points might seem a bit unrealistic, they do make for a more exciting movie (after all, if the guns were of the harmless "laser tag" variety, how threatening would that be?). If you can suspend disbelief, you'll find "Westworld" to be a truly fascinating film, a disturbing depiction of a futuristic "dream" vacation to the past that quickly becomes a living nightmare.
Movie Review: "Have We Got a Vacation for You...."
Summary: 4 Stars
Welcome to Delos, an adult amusement park where, for a mere $1000 per day, guests can experience the excitement of life in America's Old West, Medieval Europe, or Ancient Rome. Lifelike costumed androids populate the park and interact with guests, and said machines are programmed to fulfill all human desires, be those yearnings romantic, heroic, violent, or whatever. But the robots have also been programmed with a fail-safe that prevents them from harming the guests in any way. Think of Delos as a high-tech Disneyland for wealthy grown-ups. Businessmen Peter Martin (Richard Benjamin) and John Blane (James Brolin) are looking for a few days of excitement and relaxation, and the Old West section of Delos, designated WestWorld, seems like just the ticket. But it turns out there's an unexplained glitch in the main computer that controls the park's network of androids, and unfortunately for Martin and Blane, the error just happens to manifest itself while the two are visiting the park. The robots are suddenly able to exercise free will--which includes the ability to override the directive that prevents them from harming guests--and it's not long before Martin and Blane find themselves pursued by a ruthless android gunslinger (Yul Brynner).
This minor opus from Michael Crichton marks his first directorial effort and is also the first theatrical flick based on an original Crichton screenplay rather than an adaptation of one of his novels. While the special FX in 1973's WESTWORLD are decidedly cheesy and low-tech by contemporary standards, this sci-fi thriller still stands up today due to the tight, well-paced script and the solid performances from principals Benjamin, Brolin, and especially Brynner (here playing a robotic version of his character from 1960's THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN). WESTWORLD is a bit too earnest to have yet become a CULT classic--a status it is likely to achieve as technology continues to grow leaps and bounds beyond that which the film depicts--but it continues to be held in high regard by the majority of SF fans.
Though Crichton was connected (as a writer) with a few films and TV shows prior to WESTWORLD, it is really this film that brought him widespread notice and launched his high-profile Hollywood career. WESTWORLD did well enough at the box office, in fact, that it even spawned a sequel--a lesser film entitled FUTUREWORLD (1976).
Warner's edition of WESTWORLD on DVD is a no-frills disc that offers the film in both anamorphic widescreen and pan-and-scan, with the only bonus being the original theatrical trailer. The digital transfer is pretty good, but there was obviously no effort to clean up the dust and other filmic artifacts that are visible from time to time. Digital artifacts, if any, are minor, though there is some occasional color drift. (To be fair, color drift could be on the source rather than a result of the digitization.) All in all, it's an acceptable DVD of a film that most longtime SF fans will want to have in their collections.
(Rating breakdown: Film gets 5 stars; DVD gets 3. Average rating is therefore 4 stars.)
Movie Review: Nothing Can Go Wrong (With This Movie, Anyway)
Summary: 4 Stars
I don't think a lot of sci-fi fans today appreciate the really thought-provoking material of much of the sci-fi movies that were made between '2001: A Space Odyssey' and 'Star Wars'. Then again, this WAS a cycle in the genre when everyone was apparently convinced Charlton Heston would be the last surviving human on planet Earth, but that's another can of worms entirely. My point being, it took someone with the kind of courage Michael Crichton had to be pitching a script like 'Westworld' to movie audiences. And it worked. While Crichton is known for his literary pursuits rather than his directorial efforts, he was no slouch in the area of the latter, and 'Westworld' definitely proves that. The premise is a little hokey, almost left over from 1957, but in the age of Disney World it's terribly effective; even after all these years 'Westworld' is laced with as taut a level of suspense as you can possibly hope for from a film of its time.'Westworld' basically is the story of Delos, a dazzling theme-park of the not-too-distant future, which, like its counterpart created by Uncle Walt, charges insane admission fees in order to cater to its guests' every whim and perverted pleasure. Like Disney World, Delos has separate themed 'worlds' - Romanworld, Medievalworld, and of course, Westworld. And just as with Disney World, much of the park's starring 'cast' are robots - only these are true androids who are willing to go as far as their programming allows to please the customers. Of course, as ancient Rome and the Old West practically beg for bloodshed, park administrators can't simply let the guests up and take their chances; the robots, therefore, can't kill anything that gives off body heat. A clever idea. For about fifteen minutes.
Then swanky singles Jim Brolin and Dick Benjamin walk into the saloon, rub black-clad Yul Brynner the wrong way and pop a cap in'im. And everything just goes downhill from there.
Needless to say, Yul Brynner owns this movie, even with as little screen time as he's allowed. Put his Gunslinger character up against Ah-nuld's cyborg from the future, and I could guarantee the Gunslinger would win the fight just by staring the Terminator down. Brolin and Benjamin do their best to offer some humanity to the film (and distract from some of its more glaring discrepancies), as does Dick Van Patten in a comical role as a nerdy guest and Majel Barrett of 'Star Trek' fame (and Gene Roddenberry's wife) in a small but delicious role as the owner of Westworld's brothel. The acting in the film is pretty good, which takes some of the dating off of this technology-gone-wrong tale.
There are some touches of wry humor, but in the end 'Westworld' goes for the gut by steadily building toward a harrowing climax when the park finally goes completely haywire and the blood starts pouring. Crichton's guiding hand and Brynner's wickedly icy performance offer all the credentials needed to ensure that, where enjoying this movie is concerned, 'nothing can go wrong'.