Review of Westworld (1973) by Spangle — 24 Mar 2017

Transporting viewers to a world of lawlessness, lust, and pure amusement, Westworld introduces you to Delos. Playing host to an amusement park where guests pay $1,000 a day to stay in one of three sections in the park: Westworld, Medieval World, or Roman World. Each allows the guest to experience a point in history that no longer exists. Along the way, they will encounter robots that either simulate threats from the time, are there for sex, or are simply there to help them out in their stay. However, when the robots begin to malfunction and actually kill guests, John (James Brolin) and Peter (Richard Benjamin) find themselves on the other side of the gun from a gunslinging old west robot known only as The Gunslinger (Yul Brynner). Tracking down his victims with advanced senses and a perfect aim, The Gunslinger and other robots stand as a warning about how, at some point, robots will snag control away from the humans.

It is not hard to immediately see the similarities with Crichton's Jurassic Park with both taking place in a theme park where things go wrong in spite of the architects "sparing no expense". Unfortunately, in the process, they have created things that they cannot control and, in spite of warnings they are dangerous, continue to press on and push the limits of creation. Using this as a setup to warn society of how corporations do not have the best interest of consumers in their minds and how dangerous artificial intelligence can be, Westworld is a thoroughly compelling film that raises interesting questions regarding human ability to do something. If we can do it, should we do it just because we can or should we exercise some measure of judgment? In today's world, the answer should be clear, but as Westworld demonstrates, greed and pride knows no bounds and will continue to cross over the line of what is right and wrong just to prove our capabilities as a race. Unfortunately, it is this exact hubris that will trigger our demise as our creations begin to out pace and exceed the intelligence of the average person.

After watching John Boorman's Point Blank yesterday, it seems like fate that I would watch Crichton's Westworld today due to the climax utilizing a similar sound editing technique as Point Blank. With Peter hiding in the underground system used by the Delos employees to try and get away from The Gunslinger, he can hear the footsteps of The Gunslinger slowly closing in and heightened due to the echoing of the hallways. Closing in, Peter must think quickly to try and defeat the man he has followed him all the way from Westworld and through Roman World looking to kill him. In following him, as many have said, The Gunslinger operates similar to The Terminator with his robotic precision assisting him in being a terrifying opponent in battle. In portraying this, Crichton laces each moment with great tension and really does a terrific job developing the robots and The Gunslinger as fearful opponents who simply cannot be stopped.

Crichton, for a guy not known for directing, excels in the tension of that moment as well as when the robots begin to go rogue. Lacing the film with anticipation when a sex robot named Daphne (Anne Randall) refuses the seduction of a guest and a snake bites John, the film begins to build anticipation. Little clues that things are going wrong are heeded by some scientists, but overruled by the money hungry owners who are fearful of losing guest confidence. Westworld really excels in building up tension to its climactic sequence with those aforementioned small malfunctions laying the seeds for a far more disastrous occurrence, which later arises when the Black Knight (Michael Mikler) finishes off a guest who was jousting for the right to sleep with the Queen in Medieval World. At this point, all hell breaks loose and it borders on becoming a horror film with how much the tension has risen and, thankfully, it is all incredibly well-earned tension. This is a tight and focused thriller with each element hinting at the conclusion and, though there are some internal inconsistencies (how did Peter know where the underground operations rooms are?), Westworld is a heavy hitting science fiction thriller that thrills and provokes adequate science fiction fears and thoughts about the dangers of artificial intelligence. Incredibly fun to watch, Westworld is easy watching as are all of Crichton's works, but it has the capable directing, writing, and pacing that some of his films can sometimes lack. Though a bit dated by now, Westworld still entertains and engages with shocking effectiveness.