A More Modern WestWorld

If you remember Michael Crichton's 1973 film Westworld, or viewed it again recently (as I did), you will see a film that seems very familiar today - a controlled environment gone wrong.  It is basically a theme park (Westworld, Medievalworld, and Romanworld) where paying guests get to live out all their desires - murder, sex, power over others, and more - but only with robots rather than one another.  But in the film something happens and the robots rebel. 

In fact, early in the film you hear this statement about the "man-made" robots, "...in some cases they've been designed by other computers; we don't exactly know how they work."  Of course, Crichton did this again in a later film, but this time with dinosaurs in Jurassic Park.  In viewing the older film I was also reminded of The Hunger Games, where the scientists love the play with all the pieces on the chessboard, and even the Terminator films since at least one of the robots was unwilling to stay down.  Yes, Westworld seems very familiar today.  

So what can we expect from tonight's 10-episode, $100 million Westworld remake from HBO? For a start, the plot has been twisted around and now the humans are the dangerous ones.  Not much of a surprise there.   But we also get a solid cast with the like of Anthony Hopkins, Ed Harris, Evan Rachel Wood, and James Marsden.  

And we learn a little more about the robots themselves, or "hosts" as they are now called.  In a recent interview, series co-creator Lisa Joy stated:
 
In the original movie and a lot of films about A.I., you come from the human perspective, and A.I. is the other. We wanted to take that apart and start by examining the lives of the hosts and developing an empathy for them and giving them some personhood.

So now it sounds a little like BBC America's Human series.  But to work, HBO will have to create its own program unlike the others.  Take a look at the trailer to see if you are interested in learning more.  

Update: I am disappointed that HBO went straight for the jugular (literally) with Westworld rather than starting with lighter humor as was the case with the film. As a result, Westworld was very dark each and every minute, lacking a light touch. It seemed to be a blood-filled Groundhog Day that became exhausting after only an hour. 

The lack of character development is unlike Game of Thrones, which HBO hoped to emulate (or duplicate). And the single focus on Westworld without Romanworld and  Medievalworld felt somewhat constricted. So I am hopeful yet doubtful regarding this series. It may be slick and bright in places with great acting, yet also thin and bleak with a certain hopelessness.