Whereas JURASSIC PARK is a film made for children with sweet, sugary sentimentality, WESTWORLD is a brutal, nihilistic affair where the emphasis is on gritty survival horror.Īnd a cracker it is too. However, WESTWORLD is by far the more horrific of the two. Michael Crichton's thriller invariably draws comparison with the author's later JURASSIC PARK, seeing as both stories deal with amusement parks which turn into chaos. Reviewed by Leofwine_draca 10 / 10 All-time sci-fi classic from Michael Crichton If that's the case this is one unique experience for that reason alone and should not be missed. The VHS copy of Westworld advertises itself as the very first use of computer graphics. Here the relentless hunter is played by Yul Brynner in the familiar black western garb that he made popular in The Magnificent Seven. You can also see some of the themes in the later Terminator films that Arnold Schwarzneggar popularized. Will man with all of his weaknesses defeat an apparently indestructible machine? This is what Richard Benjamin and James Brolin have chosen for themselves.įor reasons unexplained in the story, the whole thing breaks down in all three theme worlds and in the case of Westworld, a very nasty gunslinger robot has shaken loose from his programming and is on the hunt for human targets. Included are gunfights and bar brawls such as you see in any good Hollywood western. They get to mix and mingle in an old west frontier town, or at least a Hollywood type version of same and get the feel of western life. Our two intrepids have chosen the Westworld experience.
The place is called Delos and like Disneyland with its separate theme parks of Fantasyland, Adventureland, Frontierland, and the World of Tomorrow, Delos has three different resort type places to visit, Romanworld, Medievalworld and Westworld. Like Jurassic Park the protagonists of Westworld are a pair of wealthy American yuppies who are going to a futuristic vacation resort. You can see the roots both in the plot and the special effects in Michael Crichton's Westworld that can later be found in the incredibly popular Jurassic Park series. Reviewed by bkoganbing 7 / 10 For $1000.00 A Day he must have had a really, really good agent. Even with a host of B-list actors (Richard Benjamin, James Brolin and Dick Van Patten) and Yul Brynner, it's an efffective and entertaining yarn.īy the way, Brynner gets top billing even though he barely speaks at all in the film. The film looks great and the story is fascinating. The film cost a paltry $1,000,000 to make and writer/director Michael Crichton seemed to make the most of it. This is great.but when some sort of computer virus strikes, soon all the safety protocols are gone.and guests are at the mercy of murderous technology. In each, it's as if you are back in time.and you can do almost anything you'd like because the residents are all robots.robots that look 100% real and alive. Folks can go to one of three parks within Delos.Western World, Roman World and Medieval World. When the story begins, you learn that the Delos Amusement Park has opened and is considered the ultimate in adult entertainment. It's well worth seeing and still remains a potent tale of technology run amok. Tonight, I saw it again and was surprised that the film holds up so well.particularly the technology. I saw "Westworld" long ago.back in the 1970s soon after it debuted. Reviewed by MartinHafer 8 / 10 It seems to have lost nothing over time.