Genre: Science Fiction Drama, Western.
Written By: Jonathan Nolan, Lisa Joy, Halley Wegryn Gross
Starring: Evan Rachel Wood, Thandie Newton, Anthony Hopkins, Ed Harris, James Marsden, Jeffrey Wright, Jimmi Simpson, Ben Barnes, Shannon Woodward
Review by: Amber S
A/N: There a few links to videos about the show at the end of the review.
'Westworld', which first aired on the 2nd October 2016, is a science fiction drama set with a mixture of western and modern themes. It is based on the 1973 Michael Crichton film of the same name.
The show follows both, the action in the park and the lives of the hosts -- The robots that look after the park and creates adventures for its guests -- and the behind the scenes of the park were we see the running of the amusement park by the creative director Dr Robert Ford, who is brilliantly played by Anthony Hopkins, and his team.
Despite the efforts of Dr Fords team, Bernard Lowe (Wright) and Elsie Hughes (Woodward), the host start to become self-aware, creating new twists for the story and new problems for Dr Ford as the company, Delos, tries to push him into retirement using the broken hosts as evidence that he is no longer fit for work.
The twists are some of the best twists I've seen on TV and film in a while, there are many throughout the show since it follows many different character storylines. Most are unexpected and leave me with the need to pause the show so I can gather my thoughts together again before continuing. Some of my favourites are the 'Man in Black' twist and the 'Arnold' Twist. They are written very well and smoothly sowed through the development of the story so they seem natural when it is finally time for the big reveal.
Every episode is a little under an hour long, with the pilot feeling the longest. At first, I wasn't fully invested in the show and ended up going back to it a little over six months later. I started the season again and realised the three episodes I had thought I had watched before was actually just half of the first episode. When I became more dedicated to the show and actually paid attention to the episodes they did feel shorter since they followed a few different storylines and was packed with information and entertainment.
The actors were all incredible in their roles, especially the hosts who had to change emotions and accents a number of times in a single scene as they are being tested and checked by Dr Fords team. I have only seen a number of the cast in other projects but they all acted brilliantly for their characters. Thandie Newton is one of my favourites on the show due to her performance as Maeve Millay, the brothel madam, who becomes self-aware and starts to make a plan to escape the world of Westworld.
Season 2 will hold a lot of the same characters, although some of their storylines seemed to have ended in season 1 I am intrigued with how their character story will continue.
Overall, I enjoyed the show and look forward to season 2 and what it will bring. Just a forewarning for those who have yet to see the show, there is a lot of nudity due to the fact that when a host is being tested they don't wear any clothes.
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1. Westworld: What Makes Anthony Hopkins Great