Two episodes in and Im pretty hooked. HBO quality tone and execution. Great science fiction concept seems like it will be very hard to pull off. My biggest gripe is that it is really kind of hard to care for each "host" as they go off on vignettes about them individually. The connections to their past experiences seems hollow since all their past experiences are manufactured anyway. This concept almost precludes you from getting attached to their stories. I think that's why Ed Harris's and Anthony Hopkins's are the most appealing. Hopefully they will tie their backstories into the "host" well. I also found the whole "Paint it Black" sequence in the first episode to be terribly off putting and out of place. If that was the original tone they had for the series I am not surprised they did the reshoots/edits. The biggest no brainer plot hole? Why make a huge Western based theme park at all? Fucking sex bots are the future and any board of directors worth their salt would have one large chain of brothels built out in a year flat. What's everyone elses thoughts?
I've watched both episodes and I like it so far, Ed Harris can play the black hat cowboy better than anyone.
I haven't heard of this show before now, but it sounds a lot like it's based on the 1970's movie with Yul Brenner. Is this the case? Ed Harris and Anthony Hopkins? I'll definitely be checking it out though.
Agreed, though I'm not sure how they get more than a season? two? out of this. I guess that's why they introduced the maze or whatever in the second episode. So far though it's intriguing and looks like it's going to go further than the old movie. I'll be watching.
Hooked so far. I did enjoy the little details like the piano playing Black Hole Sun and the other modern songs throughout. A show like this needs to find a strong story arch quick or it could get crushed under the weight of its own ambition. Spoiler I wonder if and we we'll see Medieval and Roman World.
I love it. Unexpectedly great cast. Ed Harris, Hopkins, Evan Rachel Wood (who I've always found underrated a bit), Thandie Newton and then great character actors like Jeffrey Wright and Jimmi Simpson. Agree that it needs to find a direction, but what an amazingly awesome concept. Sex and murder filled Jurassic Park? Sign me the fuck up. The sinister undertones have been well done so far, appropriately chilling. It would be interesting if Ed Harris turns into some form of an anti-hero
It's like Jurassic Park because the original was probably Michael Crichton's proto-type for JP. A unique amusement park where the attractions can kill you run by a rich, idealistic old man and bumbling engineers while being a parable about man's hubris. I'm all for suspending disbelief, but there are some things they really need to explain well for this show to work - 1) Whats preventing the guests from killing each other? I get that the guns wont work. But what about stabbing, beating someone to death, throwing them off a cliff, etc.? And how would you know the difference if the hosts have blood and guts for effect? 2) It would be interesting to understand where this takes place exactly. I'm not sure if its on earth or some other planet with an enormous, terraformed arena. Another planet would make more sense because how could you account for people just wandering into the park or planes flying overhead otherwise? On a side note, having rewatched the original recently, I cant help but think Yul Brynner's character inspired James Cameron to make the Terminator.
And, holy crap, James Brolin's character inspired somebody to make Christian Bale. I never realized how much they look alike.
I'm really enjoying the concept of this show. After watching ex machina, I wonder if the show will go that route. And the robot people become more self aware and the shit hits the fan.
It does have a very Jurassic Park vibe. I get the impression that your two points might be connected though Im not sure how it works. The train ride into the park makes me think it might actually be in a place like Monument Valley on the other hand the visualization they have of the park at the control center makes it seem like it could also be a sort of Star Trek holodeck hybrid. I think that could explain why the have host on the train ride in, it's just part of the fiction and not a real train ride. If that's the case it could have similar safety controls. I was confused as to how they could reset everything each day until they revealed how all the host were cleaned up nightly. Still the amount they charge per day per customer seems low giving the overhead for such an operation.
I'm thinking it leans towards the Truman Show as much as Jurassic Park. I want to know the endgame of Ed Harris' messed-up Man In Black. Jesus what an intro to him.
I thought I heard a thousand dollars a day a customer? Given that it looks like there are a handful of real people in any given area they show, it doesn't seem like some insanely high volume Disneyworld type place.
Does anyone else feel that rather than remaking Westworld, this team should be the ones doing The Dark Tower? Because the look and tone and cast NAILS TDT and it isn't even based off of those books.