Westworld Season 1 Review

     A little while back in my review of "The Night Of," I mentioned how many people have wondered what HBO will do without "Game of Thrones." Getting straight to it, "Westworld" is what HBO will do. Back in 1973, Michael Crichton released the sci-fi cult classic "Westworld." While the movie was a modest success with critics and audiences on release, the film has since grown to be a sci-fi classic. The film revolved around a giant western theme park in which all the inhabitants were robots. One day the robots begin to revolt and all hell breaks loose. Back in the present, a few years ago it was announced that HBO was working on a TV adaptation; with executive producers J.J. Abrams, Jonathan Nolan, and Lisa Joy taking the helm. HBO told them that before the series started production, that they'd have to have an ending planned ahead of time. So with a time-line of about five seasons (according to rumors), everything that would happen in "Westworld" is already planned. Once green-lit, the first 10 episode season was given $100 million dollars. And with that money, the executive producers and the people over at HBO have created one of the most enthralling shows we've seen in years.

     The show takes place many years in the future, at an unknown date. Westworld is an ambitions theme park that has been going on for about 30 something years. The park puts patrons in the late 1800s, and allows them to live out their fantasies, for a steep price. Whether you want to fish, hunt, and explore, or just kill, drink, whore around, the patrons are given free range over the park. The park is set up in a way that its android inhabitants live out set story lines every day, allowing for a certain margin of error, in which the guests can interact with them. The guests can harm the androids, but not the other way around. For years the system is perfect, but the story picks up when the androids begin to exhibit behavior that they aren't supposed to have.

     Heading into fall of 2016, "Westworld" was one of my most anticipated series set to air. While I knew very little about the series or the source material, what I did know sounded fascinating; and since it was on HBO, I knew they weren't going to half ass it. The final result is something truly brilliant, and another hit for the channel. Like most HBO shows, the production design is top notch. The show's $100 million budget is shown off in all its glory with authentic sets, huge set pieces, great costume design, and beautiful cinematography. The visuals are also something to admire; the show's visual design is great, with impressive CGI and practical effects. And the final aspect of actual creation of the show that I love would be the soundtrack. While the series has tons of original songs, some of the more interesting pieces are covers of classics such as "Paint it Black." Just like "Game of Thrones," HBO has done a great job with the creation of this series from physical pieces to the music; but those alone aren't enough to carry a show, fortunately they have the story to back it up. The plot of "Westworld" is fascinating. There's so much going on, but it never feels overwhelming. There' mystery, with constant twists and turns; the lore and background of the story are constantly intriguing, but never outright explained. They give you bits and pieces of the past and the history of the park, as well as the parent company and possible other parks, but they never paint the whole picture. The world building done in this show is constantly growing, and I can't wait to see what is revealed. As you'd expect with such an ambitious series, the writing is great with incredibly intelligent dialog. Funny, dramatic, and smart, this series can do it all. All while paying respect to the source material. I haven't read the book this franchise was originally based off of, but I have seen the movie fairly recently. It adapts the movie in a modern way while still following the movie's vision. But what the series writing does better than the movie is dive into complex themes. There are a variety of themes covered, but the most prevalent is the obvious, the idea of "what does it mean to be human." As well as several other themes, "Westworld" takes an intelligent look at each. The series also does a great job with its characters; there's a wide variety of characters from all different walks of life, each is layered, complex, and unique. But what really helped the characters would be the actors that portray them. Acting from the entire cast is great, but there are a few stand outs: Ed Harris as the mysterious man in black, Evan Rachel Wood as Deloris, Thandie Newton as Maeve, Anthony Hopkins as the park founder Robert Ford, and Jeffery Wright as Bernard. For one or two of these actors, an Emmy or Golden Globe nomination is a real possibility in their future. "Westworld" is an ambitious, and one of a kind show. HBO has knocked it out of the park yet again, and after announcing that the show will return for a second season they seem to trust the show runners. If I had to point out a flaw, it would be that the first few episodes are a bit of a slow burn. While still interesting, it takes a few episodes for the mystery and intrigue to truly get going. Even so, "Westworld" is something special. If it keeps it up, I can really see it becoming the next "Game of Thrones."

Pros: Fantastic production design, impressive visuals, strong acting with several standout performances, interesting world building, layered characters, explores several complex themes, fascinating story filled with mystery and lore, well written with intelligent dialog, pays respect to source material, great soundtrack.

Cons: First couple episodes are a slow burn.