Badasses, Boobs and Body Counts
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The Plot: WestWorld begins with a promotional film on the new amusement park, Delos. Delos is comprised of three sections, West World, Medieval World and Roman World. In the promotional film we meet very satisfied guests as each one has positive things to say about their recent experiences. We also learn that Delos is unlike any other amusement park you may have encountered before. Robing a bank or shooting a man on the unpaved streets of West World is part of the experience and will not have an adverse effect on your future.
Traveling on a hovercraft-like ship en-route to Delos, we meet good friends John Blane (James Brolin) and Peter Martin (Richard Benjamin). They have both decided to vacation at West World with John returning a second time. After arriving at Delos, both John and Peter go about their vacation doing what one might do if dropped into the mid 1800s. They drink whiskey, smoke cigars, get into bar fights and on occasion sleep with the robot whores.
While all this guilt-free activity sounds inviting, things in Delos begin to go bad as some of the futuristic technology begins to breakdown. It’s here we meet the crew responsible for running the theme park. They’re located under the said resort and are responsible for repairing the robots while the guests all sleep at night. However, we learn that the system may have a virus and or the computers, or robots if you will, are learning on their own. One robot in particular, the Gunslinger (Yul Brynner) keeps coming back with a vengeance and is intent on killing Peter.
The Takeaway: WestWorld has been a favorite of mine for many years. I recall seeing it for the first time with my father on TV in the late 70s. The film mixes the old-west with sci-fi like no other and is memorable for one particular character, the Gunslinger played by the great Yul Brynner. While Brynner speaks few words during the film, his over-bearing presence is a menace to both John and in particular, Peter. In fact, I think it’s safe to say that the Gunslinger character had an influence on James Cameron’s The Terminator (1984) as both are technically advanced robots and stop at nothing while trying to terminate their targets.
Film Facts: WestWorld was written and directed by Michael Crichton. The film starred Yul Brynner, James Brolin and Richard Benjamin. It was distributed by MGM and was released in November of 1973. It was said to have made just over 4 million in box office receipts. As a director, Crichton would go on to direct 7 other films such as Coma (1978), The Great Train Robbery (1978) and Looker (1981) to name a few. He of course would be remembered as a novelist more-so than anything else. He wrote novels such as Jurassic Park, Congo, The Lost World: Jurassic Park and Rising Sun to name a few.
Yul Brynner, James Brolin and Richard Benjamin would all go on to have successful careers after WestWorld . Well, Brynner had already been successful in film as a performer and had won an Academy Award for his role as King Mongkut of Siam in the film The King and I (1956). Brolin currently has 120+ film and TV credits on his IMDB resume and is still working to this day. One of my favorites of his is The Master of Disguise (2002). Yes, I know it’s not a great film, but it’s funny as shit simply because of Dana Carvey and the amount of good and bad disguises he appears in. And although Richard Benjamin worked less than Brolin did as a performer (41 IMDB credits), he managed to stay busy producing and directing TV and film.
Thoughts In My Head: - Smells like Total Recall - Wow, now that’s a porn mustache - “Sloppy with your drink”, “get this boy a bib”, “he needs his momma” – the Gunslinger - Yul Brynner as the “Gunslinger” is a fucking badass - Men travel to Delos to cheat, women travel to vacation - Question of the day, is sleeping with a whore robot cheating if you’re married - Dude, she’s a robot, nail that shit - Smells like Terminator - I think this would benefit from a remake. Then again, we already have The Terminator - I wonder how many others bathed in that tub, gross - Shit, the Gunslinger is back - The queen this guy is cheating with is uglier than his wife, what gives - There’s a new sheriff in town, boys… - The park is slowly malfunctioning - What, you don’t want to have sex with an old fat dude, picky robots - No fair, robots have unlimited stamina - The Gunslinger is back again, will nothing stop this guy - “draw” - The park operators have lost all control - The Gunslinger won’t stop, ever… - Even burnt like toast, the Gunslinger comes after you
Favorite Badass or Badass Moment: Yul Brynner as the Gunslinger Favorite Boobs or Boobs in a Scene: Sorry kids, no boobs in this one Favorite Death Scene: The Gunslinger
Boob Count: 0 pair Body Count: 3
IMDB Rating: 7.1 / 10 My Rating: 8.0 / 10
Final Thoughts: WestWorld may be a little slow for today’s fast-paced audience. However, it remains a favorite of mine and the score I give the film reflects my love for it as a youngster. It influenced one of the more modern sci-fi films, The Terminator and is indeed well worth a watch for Yul Brynner as the Gunslinger if nothing else.
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@ Reverend_Scott My penis is so big that I have to buy two tickets when going to the movie theater :-) 16 minutes ago
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