"These Violent Delights Have Violent Ends..."
Proclaimed as being the series that has been "designed to fill that Game of Thrones shaped hole in your life", HBO's new flagship television show based on Michael Crichton's 1973 sci-fi gem of the same name has indeed been the most advertised series in recent times, showcasing its' cast and credits whenever possible across the small screen and even the big. Helmed by the incredible writing talents of Johnathan Nolan, younger brother of the 21st century's best director, Christopher Nolan, whose past credits include scripts for The Dark Knight, Interstellar and Memento, whilst featuring the pristine acting talents of Anthony Hopkins and Ed Harris, who can blame the marketing campaign for attempting to wave its' existence left, right and centre, particularly when it reportedly has 45 million riding on it. As a fan of the original, the first episode of Westworld is indeed impressive. Not only does it look gorgeous, "The Original" features the strange sci-fi/horror combination of its' 1973 predecessor, resulting in a series that grabs you from the offset and gets you ready for months of enjoyment ahead.
Beginning with a ten minute first act in which we are introduced to the inhabitants and the surroundings of the titular Westworld, straight away we are left shaken by the twisty narrative of Nolan's talented misdirection, resulting in a early shocking twist which brings to light the dark side of the series as well as a quick summary of the type of series Westworld may indeed become; a somewhat jet black twist on the original movies' strange sense of light-hearted B-Movie goodness. Amongst the talented cast is Ed Harris as The Man In Black, a seedy, evil "guest" with his own ideas on how to enjoy his time in Westworld, Anthony Hopkins as Dr. Robert Ford, the creator of Westworld who begins to worry about the stability of his machines, and Evan Rachel Wood as Dolores, the first "host" of Westworld who begins to suspect her life is part of the constructed lie created to form the basis of her surroundings. With a talented cast leading the way and a dark, brooding sense of danger hanging around it, "The Original" is an interesting and eye-catching beginning to Nolan's series, one which raises enough questions to keep even the lay viewer interested for the coming weeks. Game of Thrones watch out, there's a new player in town.
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