TV Series Review: Westworld - How the West was lost

Genre Sci-Fi
Director Jonathan Nolan
Producer Jonathan Nolan, Lisa Joy, J.J. Abrams
Actors Jeffrey Wright, Anthony Hopkins, Thandie Newton, Ed Harris, Evan Rachel Wood, Luke Hemsworth, Sidse Babett Knudsen, Jimmi Simpson, Rodrigo Santoro, James Marsden
Where we got our copy DSTV
Episode 1-10
Season 1

plut

Published February 16, 2017

I’ll give you five names: Anthony Hopkins, Thandie Newton, Ed Harris, J.J. Abrams and Jonathan Nolan. If these five were to work together on a single project, wouldn’t that be interesting? What if it were a Michael Crichton project? Sounds pretty enticing, right?Westworld is a series based on Michael Crichton’s 1973 novel and film of the same name. The story revolves around a theme park created for wealthy guests who wish to live out all their fantasies without consequence. The setting in question here, as you might have guessed is designed around wild west.

There are three major stakeholders here: Guests, hosts and park management. The guests do pretty much anything they want to the hosts. Any amount of violence and debauchery is acceptable. The further out of the main town they go – the wilder it gets. The hosts are machines designed by the creators of Westworld. They resemble humans in almost every way. The park’s creators script them to keep them in check. Every guest who walks in, in theory at least, will experience the same prompts and behaviour. It least that is what we expect. Park management, as you may have guessed, keeps everyone in check. As we know, things must go wrong.

Let’s talk about the characters here, for there are many and they’re well acted. Anthony Hopkins plays Doctor Ford, one of Westworld’s co-creators. Thandie Newton is Maeve, a prostitution house madame and host. Other notable characters include Bernard Lowe, played by Jeffrey Wright and the intense Evan Rachel Wood who takes on the role of Dolores, oldest host in the park.

And we thought Hannibal Lecter was manipulative

I’ll put it out there: Westworld has some of the best acting I’ve seen in a series for a very long time. If there were a series that could not only invoke pity and sympathy for a mere machine, but also bring out revulsion for humankind, it’s this one. The hosts are abused in every way. They’re shot, stabbed and abused (in that way too). Every guest who enters indulges in their most debaucherous fantasy. Once they’re done with the hosts, the machines get reset and placed back into the world.

Doctor Ford is the model of manipulation. His control over the park management and hosts alike is subtle and somewhat terrifying. At the mention of a phrase, he has the ability to force a host to kill themselves. For the people around him, he uses their past to control them, knowing full well the extent of his power. Bernard Lowe, his assistant, also models some of this kind of control – but to a lesser extent.

Related Article American Gods - American Gods - Season 1 Review

William, played by Jimmi Simpson represented what happened to the wrong kind of person who visited the park. While starting off innocent and fearful, his ultimate fall into darkness was frightening. There are some experiences that some of us should not go through.

Ed Harris plays the Man in Black. The hosts’ primary antagonist, whose brutality and mercilessness stay unmatched throughout. His knowledge of the park and hosts are a point of fear for all who get in his way. As the plot reveals his motivations, we get the idea that he wasn’t always the man he’s shown to be. Although I found myself hating his character in the beginning, I felt pity toward the end as I learned about him.

Thandie Newton’s character Maeve is the counter-point to Doctor Ford. Where Ford is cool and composed, Maeve is fiery and impulsive. While they share common traits, her character seeks higher purpose, writhing inside her cocoon. Her transformation brings out the leadership qualities within, and ultimately draws the loyalty of the hosts and humans around her. Maeve’s sense of purpose draws those around her close, right until the end of the first season. Dolores, a sharp contrast to Maeve, while designed to be “the girl next door”, showed signs of awareness far beyond her role. Both of these characters also have the greatest air of mystery around them. The exposition surrounding their origins left more questions than answers by the end of the series.

While the above mentioned roles played a pivotal role to the story, some of them felt out of place. Elsie, Bernard’s assistant, seemed to exist in the plot in a secondary way. Similarly, Theresa’s role felt tacked on, her efforts fruitless in the face of Robert Ford’s, lacking any real drive in the story.

Other hosts such as Hector and Armistice, played by Rodrigo Santo and Ingrid Bolsø Berdal respectively worked well within the series. I could say the same about Teddy, played by John Marsden. While their roles were supporting in nature the plot wouldn’t have worked without them. Leonard Nam and Ptolemy Slocum each played low-level support staff represented different perspectives regarding the host with Slocum’s role taking the unquestioning corporate slave approach, and Nam’s more thoughtful and aware.

Linearity? What linearity?

Westworld plays with your mind. You’ll have several timelines played within an episode. The second that you think something predictable is going to happen, the plot throws a spanner in the works. The producers made smart use of location and characters on-screen and by the time you reach the end of the first season, you’ll begin to ask even more questions. The growing awareness of the hosts, insistence on compliance from the park’s owners and carelessness of the guests are strong plot devices. I’m going to lay it straight: Westworld made me question whether A.I. is a good thing to have in our world. Knowing how rotten our species can be, could this series be a warning to humankind as a whole?

Related Article American Gods - American Gods - Season 1 Review

The music is apt, with occasional nods to the 1990s thrown in like Soundgarden’s Blackhole Sun or Nirvana’s Smells Like Teenage Spirit thrown into the mix. The level of gore in this series makes it unsuitable for children, and sexual content quite explicit at times. Make no mistake, Westworld is not for children, not even for teenagers at certain points. It’s a great series worth watching in small doses, so one can appreciate how well written and acted out it is.

I'll give you five names: Anthony Hopkins, Thandie Newton, Ed Harris, J.J. Abrams and Jonathan Nolan. If these five were to work together on a single project, wouldn't that be interesting? What if it were a Michael Crichton project? Sounds pretty enticing, right?Westworld is a series based on Michael Crichton's 1973 novel and film of the same name. The story revolves around a theme park created for wealthy guests who wish to live out all their fantasies without consequence. The setting in question here, as you might have guessed is designed around wild west. There are three major stakeholders here: Guests, hosts and park management. The guests do pretty much anything they want to the hosts. Any amount of violence and debauchery is acceptable. The further out of the main town they go - the wilder it gets. The hosts are machines designed by the creators of Westworld. They resemble humans in almost every way. The park's creators script them to keep them in check. Every guest who walks in, in theory at least, will experience the same prompts and behaviour. It least that is what we expect. Park management, as you may have guessed, keeps everyone in check. As we know, things must go wrong. Let's talk about the characters here, for there are many and they're well acted. Anthony Hopkins plays Doctor Ford, one of Westworld's co-creators. Thandie Newton is Maeve, a prostitution house madame and host. Other notable characters include Bernard Lowe, played by Jeffrey Wright and the intense Evan Rachel Wood who takes on the role of Dolores, oldest host in the park. And we thought Hannibal Lecter was manipulative I'll put it out there: Westworld has some of the best acting I've seen in a series for a very long time. If there were a series that could not only invoke pity and sympathy for a mere machine, but also bring out revulsion for humankind, it's this one. The hosts are abused in every way. They're shot, stabbed and abused (in that way too). Every guest who enters indulges in their most debaucherous fantasy. Once they're done with the hosts, the machines get reset and placed back into the world. Doctor Ford is the model of manipulation. His control over the park management and hosts alike is subtle and somewhat terrifying. At the mention of a phrase, he has the ability to force a host to kill themselves. For the people around him, he uses their past to control them, knowing full well the extent of his power. Bernard Lowe, his assistant, also models some of this kind of control - but to a lesser extent. William, played by Jimmi Simpson represented what happened to the wrong kind of person who visited the park. While starting off innocent and fearful, his ultimate fall into darkness was frightening. There are some experiences that some of us should not go through. Ed Harris plays the Man in Black. The hosts' primary antagonist, whose brutality and mercilessness stay…

TV Series Review: Westworld – How the West was lost

2017-02-16

plut

Total - 9.5

95 9.5

Westworld is thought-provoking, intelligent, intense and brilliantly-acted. While certainly not for children, a great watch.

Related Article American Gods - American Gods - Season 1 Review

User Rating: Be the first one !

The following two tabs change content below. - Bio

Latest Posts

plut

Gaming / Tech / Entertainment Author at Geek Node

Zubayr could be defined as any one of these traits: Grizzled, optimistic, jaded, blunt, opinionated, irreverent and reserved. His experience was once carbon dated to the glory days of Doom and Duke Nukem 3D. It still amazes him how irrelevant those have become these days.Some say his tears generate DLC unlock codes, and that the WASD combination was discovered by his typo while on Yahoo Chat.