Review of Westworld (1973) by Dawdlingpoet — 25 Nov 2021

This is certainly a thought provoking film, which was quite ahead of its time (it dates from the 1970s). It takes a while for the plot to build but I liked how we see the place being marketed by a TV reporter at the start, interviewing people arriving at an airport, having left the resort. The ending is quite sinister and I think that nowadays, with all the talk of a supposed fully AI generation being on the cards, its almost more contemporary than ever. There is perhaps a bit of a human moral edge to it, in as much as some of the robots were clearly prostitutes and perhaps such people do feel like downtrodden machines at times, right enough. I did think it was a bit cheesy with the way the humans talked at times and also, this is perhaps a slightly 'not here nor there' comment/thought/observation but I did think it seemed a bit random that the music played at the end, while the credits rolled, was banjo music. I suppose it relates to the fact the park is set in the 'ol' Wild West' but still...I suppose I'd assumed/expected more futuristic type music might play? given the film is over 40 years old, it would almost certainly sound quite dated all the same though.

This film works best in terms of making you wonder if such a story could actually happen in real life and to ponder the consequences of making money from large scale AI. As a thought provoking film, I'd recommend it but it is pretty dated and so in terms of an exciting, action/sci-fi type film, it may not appeal greatly to you.