Westworld

I watched the movie Westworld last night and it’s playing again right now. It’s an enjoyable film by the creator of Jurassic Park and follows a similar theme. The story is based in a theme park called Delos that houses three themed parks, Westworld, Romanworld and Medievalworld. Each is populated by robots that portray realistic humans from each period. Guests pay fairly large sums of money ($1000 / day) to experience an immersive environment in which they can do anything they’d like.
The hero is an unlikely one, a man without experience in any sort of danger. He struggles with memories of his recently divorced ex-wife and his lack of a feeling of immersion in the Westworld. His more at ease and experienced friend helps in his transition.
Of course things take a turn for the worse when the robots become infected with a virus that causes them to lose restraint and kill the guests of the park. All are killed except for the protagonist, who flees from an especially dangerous gunslinger.
The film was made in the early seventies and that shows in the production, technical story flaws and general feel. It’s a dated film, but has themes that are relevant still. Feeling disconnected from humanity and struggles with technology are themes that will be part of the human condition for many, many years.
This film was most enjoyable dissected for its flaws and humour, but it wasn’t a bad film in general. Certainly for its time it was well made. I’d recommend it as a rental if you have nothing else you feel like watching, but it’s not a film to go out of your way to see.

The reason I rented the film is because it inspired the song “Westworld” and the debut album from Valley of the Giants. The lyrics to the song show noticeable correlation with the movie. “If the stagecoach is late” was especially amusing, since the line in the film, “I don’t know what to do if the stage coach is late,” seemed quite out of place.