It's been a while since I've watched something that’s being released to a schedule, rather than dumped wholesale onto Netflix or amazon for a 48 hour binge session. I actually prefer these things to be rationed out, but it does make reviewing it a pain. For this reason, I can give some early impressions of the first three episodes to anyone who hasn’t decided to watch it yet.
Westworld has always been a natural counter-part to the Jurassic Park movies, what with the arrogant scientists making a high-tec theme park that goes horribly wrong and ends up killing all the guests. Now as a tv series, Westworld neatly mirrors the premise of Jurassic World. There are subtle implications that this is a sort of sequel, sort of soft-reboot, taking place decades after the park had been successfully relaunched and any catastrophe covered up. In order to keep the guests interested, Westworld park directors have to build in ever more sophisticated “hosts”, super-lifelike androids that masquerade as cowboys. Something is going to give.
It is a perfect set up. I’m used to lazy prequels and counterparts to popular shows; gritty, 'mature', Christmas boxset visions of classic characters, as seen before they did what made them interesting. Westworld feels like they took a long hard look at the original movie, which used its hedonistic, free-for-all, hollywoodified Wild West setting to tell a slasher story, and they decided to expand on the ethical implications of every last bit. You have guests acting like complete psychopaths, androids who are dangerously close to realising they exist only for target practise/sex, and cynical park staff who are uncertain how much life they can breath into machines. Your sympathies naturally lie with the hosts, who are made to suffer agonising horror on a daily basis, but whenever they start to glitch out, they do so in the most inhumane, sinister ways imaginable. The acting is top notch, with characters being asked to switch from shrieking pain to catatonia, or from copacetic to spastic rage monster in a split second.
A huge part of the show so far is simply exploring this precarious set up. At any moment, the place feels like it is going to go into full meltdown, and it is only the hubris of the human guests and guys running the show that keeps them from realising how horribly in danger they are. It's going to be a blast when it goes down.
Early Impressions
It's been a while since I've watched something that’s being released to a schedule, rather than dumped wholesale onto Netflix or amazon for a 48 hour binge session. I actually prefer these things to be rationed out, but it does make reviewing it a pain. For this reason, I can give some early impressions of the first three episodes to anyone who hasn’t decided to watch it yet.
Westworld has always been a natural counter-part to the Jurassic Park movies, what with the arrogant scientists making a high-tec theme park that goes horribly wrong and ends up killing all the guests. Now as a tv series, Westworld neatly mirrors the premise of Jurassic World. There are subtle implications that this is a sort of sequel, sort of soft-reboot, taking place decades after the park had been successfully relaunched and any catastrophe covered up. In order to keep the guests interested, Westworld park directors have to build in ever more sophisticated “hosts”, super-lifelike androids that masquerade as cowboys. Something is going to give.
It is a perfect set up. I’m used to lazy prequels and counterparts to popular shows; gritty, 'mature', Christmas boxset visions of classic characters, as seen before they did what made them interesting. Westworld feels like they took a long hard look at the original movie, which used its hedonistic, free-for-all, hollywoodified Wild West setting to tell a slasher story, and they decided to expand on the ethical implications of every last bit. You have guests acting like complete psychopaths, androids who are dangerously close to realising they exist only for target practise/sex, and cynical park staff who are uncertain how much life they can breath into machines. Your sympathies naturally lie with the hosts, who are made to suffer agonising horror on a daily basis, but whenever they start to glitch out, they do so in the most inhumane, sinister ways imaginable. The acting is top notch, with characters being asked to switch from shrieking pain to catatonia, or from copacetic to spastic rage monster in a split second.
A huge part of the show so far is simply exploring this precarious set up. At any moment, the place feels like it is going to go into full meltdown, and it is only the hubris of the human guests and guys running the show that keeps them from realising how horribly in danger they are. It's going to be a blast when it goes down.