Futureworld, DVD Review

Decades before Michael Crighton’s theme park gone wrong movie called Jurassic Park hit our screens he wrote and directed another movie within the same vein called Westworld, starring the late Yul Brynner where for $1000 a day you can have sword fights in Medieval World, mass orgies in Roman world or be a cowboy fighting gunslingers in Westworld that was until it all went wrong and the robots turned on the guests.

Well 4 years after this (now) cult classic hit the screens a sequel was born called Futureworld. This is set after the events at Westworld where Delos (the company that runs the theme park) state that they have rectified the problems that caused the massacre at Westworld and they are reopening the park. In order to allay peoples fears they have invited two journalists along to write about the park, hopefully giving it a favourable view so that the punters will return. Chuck Browning (Peter Fonda) and Tracy Ballard (Blythe Danner) are the journalists in question and whilst Ballard initially thinks all is ok, browning, who was a harsh critic of Westworld, smells a rat and intends to get to the bottom of it. What he discovers is a sinister plot initiated by Delos and he has to escape with Ballard in order to blow the lid on the truth.

I was looking forward to seeing this film; I had enjoyed Westworld and thought that a sequel set in the future would have some real merits. At the same time I didn’t want the film to just be a rehash of the original only set in a new location. Although the film didn’t pan out that way it has to be said that as a sequel it is disappointing; the script moves along at a snails pace with a lame finale taking up what seems like only a few minutes towards the end. The rest of the film seems to concentrate of showing us the delights of the theme park and the technology that they have to ensure the guests pleasure. As well as dwelling on an annoying game show winner called Ron Thurlow who won his way to futureworld.

The acting didn’t really help either, Fonda comes across as stiff and wooden with none of the charm of say Wyatt in Easy Rider; but at least he has the investigative mind of a reporter, always digging for more information. Danner on the other hand would struggle for any story as she seems reluctant and hesitant to pursue anything other than along “official” lines therefore she comes across as quite useless. In the film these two reporters are supposed to be rivals but there is the underlying hint of romance between the two of them which of course comes to the fore within the running time.

The film has a number of odd scenes; the first is when our hero and heroine are chased by some samurai that transported in star trek style. For one I have no idea why these scenes were there other than to give us a little action in the beginning portion of what up until that point was a pretty slow, dull movie, but what also spoilt it was that the actors playing the Samurai were obviously Caucasian actors with headpieces and makeup to make them try and look real.

Also a shoehorned in dream sequence which shows Ballard as the love interest of none other than the gunslinger from Westworld. I don’t know if they did this so that Yul Brynners name would be on the credits therefore attracting viewers but the whole sequence was pointless and nothing to do with the movie in any way shape or form, in fact it did nothing accept make the gunslinger look a little camp. Another point here is that it would seem the front cover of the DVD that is to be released in February 09 shows him on the front cover which indicates a bigger involvement in the movie, this is not the case.

Overall I am pleased that they didn’t just try and make a Westworld in space, but ultimately the movie fails to deliver in almost all areas, it is certainly not the action packed thriller of Westworld, nor is it an effective conspiracy thriller, in fact it all seems rather drawn out and dare I say it? Boring. 

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