Westworld (1973) Film Review: An Outdated, Amateur Romp Despite A Great Premise

Delos is a futuristic, adult amusement park that utilizes life-like androids to simulate people residing in the time-based worlds, such as the Old West-themed world, Westworld. Guests pay thousands of dollars to compete in duels and have sexual encounters with no sense of moral code or danger present. However, when a computer virus starts to infect the machines, it turns off safety protocols, allowing the androids to malfunction and be able to kill the guests, which first-time visitor, Peter Martin, soon discovers. Based off an original story by Micheal Crichton, the author who wrote "Jurassic Park", "Westworld" has a fantastic premise, which is explored in perfection in the HBO series of the same name. The film itself though is a horse of another colour. The main issue with this film is that despite the low runtime of ninety minutes, the movie just drags on and on without much happening, which is why the HBO series works so much better due to the episodic nature. The first act introduces us to the characters and the world, which is perhaps the most effective part of the film. The second is where the technicians are realizing that the androids are slowly starting to go haywire and ignore protocols, which is the most uneventful part of the film as the guests don't notice these changes at all outside of a rattlesnake bitting Peter's friend. The third act is where the androids finally begin to cause havoc and death, which should be the best part of the film as Peter is being chased by the same android he has been killing for the past two days. However, the issue is that the climax almost comes out of nowhere due to the very slow pace of the story, and this is where plot holes start to emerge ranging from the lack of rogue androids roaming around the park to the ending that just comes out of nowhere and leaves the fate of Peter unresolved. It doesn't help that the tone of the film is a bit all over the place as there is constantly failed moments of humour from the other guests of the park.

Richard Benjamin plays Peter Martin, the first-time visitor to Delos and is just amazed by the experience. Peter isn't the most complex character, but he works fine enough as a protagonist as a fish out of water. James Brolin plays John Blane, Peter's friend who has been in Westworld multiple times. John is relaxed and mellow and counteracts Peter's excitement and confusion. Yul Brynner plays the Gunslinger, an android that has been killed by Peter multiple times only for it to become a bigger threat once the virus interferes with its programming. Although Brynner doesn't have much character or dialogue, he's probably the best actor in the film due to his silent, but deadly persona and physical acting that would inspire both the T-800 and T-1000 in the "Terminator" films. The side characters are completely forgettable and useless as they ultimately don't serve a role in the plot. The other guests of the park such as the wimpy sheriff and the medieval lord are distractions with the lord being the first one killed by the androids in a well-constructed sequence, and the sheriff vanishing from the film after the bar fight. The technicians could have been more important to the story outside of learning about the virus, but they are randomly killed off not by androids, but suffocating in the control rooms closed off due to a power outage.  I believe that the film would have been much more effective if it only focused on the main characters and how they realize day-by-day that the androids are becoming more unstable and dangerous. It also could help make characters such as Peter and John to be more interesting and likeable if the focus was entirely on them rather than the random guests or technicians.

The film was actually directed by Micheal Crichton himself, which is a big leap from his established role as an author. Although this could be a good idea in concept to allow a writer to foresee his vision, it's clear that not everyone is cut out for the job. To be fair, Crichton does have some good shots and direction of certain scenes. The opening shot after the cold open is iconic with a man's sunglasses reflecting off the terrain he's flying over. The reveal of the androids finally being capable of killing the guests is effective and the third act chase is very horror-inspired that clearly inspired motifs in the aforementioned "Terminator" films and even "Predator" when the Gunslinger attempts to use infra-red vision in order to find Peter's heat signature only for Peter to outsmart it by sheer luck. Despite these moments of brilliance, Crichton is not a good director at all as his directing comes off as flat and uninspired for most of the time with a good shot here and there. Some scenes just go for far too long and lose suspense and focus from the viewer with the aforementioned infra-red vision moment being shot for too long to become rather awkward. It also shows how messy and unfocused he is, due to putting in other worlds and characters that are pointless as a whole. The editing is also pretty bad as scenes just get cut too quickly. You can tell that this film was butchered in the editing process as it explains the short runtime and the missing characters and elements that remain mysteries in the lore. The score by Fred Karlin is interesting at times with its mixture of western music and electronic beats, which works so well with the material. However, the western music is so generic and unforgettable that it really grates on your ears. The visual effects are actually pretty good. Seeing the mechanics of the androids is both surreal yet realistic in a way, and the vision of the Gunslinger is actually the first use of any form of CGI, albeit on a 2D scale. At the same time though, you can get the sense that this film was on a restricted budget and that there was missed potential. The scene where Peter splashes acid on the Gunslinger's face is followed up by a disappointing reveal of the damage as the android is barely scarred and doesn't show any mechanical details underneath. Perhaps with a bigger budget, more ambitious shots and effects would have been possible, but the effects overall are good given the time and budget.

"Westworld" is a film that I really want to like. From its fantastic premise and a solid first act to hook, Brynner's performance as the Gunslinger, some good cinematography, the third act revelation of the rogue androids, the visual effects being great with the first use of CGI, and the chase between Peter and the Gunslinger being a horror-inspired sequence that would influence other sci-fi horror films in the 80s. However, there are just too many problems with the film. The pacing is dreadfully slow and uneventful, the third act (despite its enjoyability) has plot holes galore, the tone is inconsistent with failed humour, the side characters are a waste of time, Crichton's mostly flat and dragging direction, choppy over-editing, and Karlin's mediocre score. The problem with this film was that it was simply overambitious for its time and budget. Perhaps if it did have a much bigger budget and a great director that knows what needs to have focus, this could've been a great sci-fi classic. As it is, it's a fantastic, untapped story that 70's filmmaking just couldn't do justice, instead having to wait more than 40 years to be perfected.

Verdict: 4.5/10. It's pretty bad to watch in retrospective, but should be viewed as a stepping stone for an otherwise brilliant IP. If you love the HBO series like myself, this is an interesting film to look back on.