Westworld (2008)

When Stephen Spielberg devoured all and sundry at the box office in 1993 with Jurassic Park, his tale of dinosaurs run amok on a futuristic theme park, the more eagle-eyed of viewers may have noticed Michael Crichton’s name in the credits as writer, and inadvertently have travelled back twenty years to a similar themed science-fiction movie, Westworld. Before going onto to become one of the most successful authors in the world, Crichton seriously struggled to make a name for himself. As late as 1972 he was still releasing novels under the pseudonym John Lange, and after releasing the little-seen TV movie Pursuit, he decided to take a stab at more serious filmmaking.

Westworld takes place in the not-to-distant future, specifically at a resort called Delos, a paradise for historically inclined tourists’ that allows them to take vacations in robot-populated virtual worlds such as Ancient Rome (“Romanworld”), Medieval England, (“Medievalworld”) and, you guessed it, the America Wild West. For $1,000 a day you can indulge your most carnal desires, as the robots offer up everything from sex to death, and a whole lot more in between. Two young Americans, Peter Martin (Richard Benjamin) and John Blane (James Brolin) return to the park to visit Westworld, and take on the notorious Gunslinger robot (Yul Bryner). Unfortunately though, park technicians soon begin to notice that some of the robots are breaking their programming, and it isn’t long until robots on all three worlds are running amok.

Though it may seem slightly clichéd now, thirty years ago this was a groundbreaking premise, which Crichton cleverly brings to life. The casting of Yul Bryner in particular is a stroke of genius. Better known for his heroic turns in The King And I and The Magnificent Seven, Bryner is perfectly cast against type as the demented Gunslinger, relentlessly pursuing Martin and Blane. The films final act will be highly recognisable to modern movie fans, as it’s influence on sci-fi and horror classics like The Terminator and Halloween is indisputable. Bryner’s unflinching and merciless portrayal of a robot turned evil has been copied many times, but rarely as well. Like most of Cricton’s output, Westworld is a none-too-subtle warning about the dangers of becoming overtly reliant on technology, and in it’s more earnest moments can become slightly grating. However, while it may miss the mark as a satirical fable, as base entertainment it works perfectly. I may be biased, but any film that can inspire no less than three parodies on The Simpsons deserves to be seen.
 
Snap it up, before the alleged Arnold Schwarzenegger remake becomes a disturbing reality.

Release Date: 8 September 2008 
Director: Michael Crichton
Starring: Yul Brynner, Richard Benjamin, James Brolin, Norman Bartold, Alan Oppenheimer, Victoria Shaw & Dick Van Patten
Running time: 1 hour and 25 minutes (approx)
Certificate: 15
Language: English
RRP: £12.99