Review 452: Westworld - The Maze

Westworld is an amazingly, mind boggling TV Show and a surprisingly real mind bender.

Based on the 1973 Sci Fi film Westworld by Michael Crichton, In an unspecified future, Westworld, one of six theme parks owned and operated by Delos Inc., allows guests to experience the American Old West in an environment populated by “hosts”, androids programmed to fulfill the guests’ every desire.

We, as an audience, are introduced to Westworld from the perspective of the Hosts, they're not in on the joke, they're completely unaware of the fact that this is in fact a theme park and that its not real. They're simply there for the amusement of the 21st Century guests who come to indulge themselves in a fantasy.

Director's Jonathan Nolan, Richard J. Lewis, Neil Marshall, Vincenzo Natali, Jonny Campbell, Fredrick E. O. Toye, Stephen Williams & Michelle MacLaren’s direction is superbly precise and suspenseful, the cinematography is gorgeous and captures the beauty of Westworld’s Western setting, the score by Ramin Djawadi (deftly blending Sci Fi & Western themes) is the production design is (creating the Westworld theme park and the behind the scenes futuristic setting) is fantastic, the costumes are lavish, the make up is rich and beautifuly detailed, the scenery is breathtaking, there are plenty of classic, exciting and spectacular Western gunfights.
Every penny of the shows $100 million budget shines on screen.

Onscreen, Exec. Producers J. J. Abrams & Jonathan Nolan have fully realised their ambitious story with one of the most prestigious ensemble casts ever assembled on TV playing a cast of colourfully, eclectic and meaty characters: Evan Rachel Wood, James Marsden, Thandie Newton, Jimmi Simpson, Ben Barnes, Rodrigo Santoro, Ingrid Bolso Berdal, Angela Sarafyan, Clifton Collins Jr., Shannon Woodard, Sidse Babett Knudsen, Luke Hemsworth, Simon Quarterman, Tessa Thompson, Jeffrey Wright, Ed Harris & Anthony Hopkins.

Wood, Marsden & Newton’s Hosts Delores, Teddy & Maeve are pushed to their artificial limits throughout the season.

At the core of Westworld is Anthony Hopkins as the mysterious founder of Westworld, Dr. Robert Ford. Ford is a very interesting character for Hopkins to play because he's a very hard person to pin down, you're never quite sure wether he's good or bad and you're not quite sure what his endgame is.

Over the course of the season, William and Logan are very much presented as opposites of one another. Logan chastises William for too nice to the hosts whilst William struggles to refrain Logan from shooting hosts on his many whims. He constantly criticises William for showing compassion to the hosts as he sees them as nothing more than tools to help him carry out his adventures in Westworld and he can't understand why William would go
Logan also makes it clear that he has no respect for William, even their entire relationship is based on profession as well as the fact that William is getting married to Logan's sister.

Logan very much represents the dark side of Westworld's guests. An experienced hedonist and guest who enjoys wrecking havoc and killing hosts and obviously doesn't see anything wrong with his excessively cruel behaviour. He believes that eventually Westworld will seduce everybody and that what happens in Westworld stays in Westworld.