Westworld
A luxury fantasy resort becomes a deadly frontier when its android gunslinger stops playing by the rules.
Overview
A futuristic amusement park turns into a deadly playground when technology goes awry.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Moderate
- tense
- chilling
- bleak
- classic science fiction night
- double feature with a western
What critics said
Critics broadly found the film an inventive and entertaining science fiction-western hybrid, with Yul Brynner's performance standing out despite weaknesses in the latter-half chase and explanation of the robot rebellion.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The vacationers enter a commercial fantasy park for controlled adventures, but the park's malfunctioning androids transform leisure into survival.
The film places advanced android technology and computer systems alongside saloons, gunfights, and reconstructed western towns.
Yul Brynner's Gunslinger evokes the iconic western gunslinger while pursuing human visitors as an implacable machine.
The amusement park's breakdown exposes the danger of deploying humanlike machines whose control systems cannot contain emergent violence.
Films like Westworld, and why
The Terminator
Shares a science fiction thriller premise about artificial intelligence, human vulnerability, and technology turning against its creators.
Jurassic Park
Combines a futuristic technological threat with survival suspense, escalating from controlled spectacle into a relentless pursuit.
The Truman Show
Uses a stylized frontier setting to explore artificial beings, escapism, and the collapse of a manufactured reality.
Movie Details
- Director
- Michael Crichton
- Release Date
- 1973-08-15
- Runtime
- 89 min
- Rating
- 6.8 / 10 (1528)
Cast
- Yul Brynner
- Richard Benjamin
- James Brolin
- Norman Bartold
- Alan Oppenheimer
- Victoria Shaw
- Dick Van Patten
- Linda Gaye Scott
- Steve Franken
- Michael T. Mikler
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Westworld about?
- A luxury fantasy resort becomes a deadly frontier when its android gunslinger stops playing by the rules.
- What is Westworld like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Westworld as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is Westworld violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in Westworld as moderate.
- What did critics think of Westworld?
- Critics broadly found the film an inventive and entertaining science fiction-western hybrid, with Yul Brynner's performance standing out despite weaknesses in the latter-half chase and explanation of the robot rebellion.
- Which films are like Westworld?
- Films with a similar feel include The Terminator, Jurassic Park, and The Truman Show.
- How long is Westworld?
- Westworld runs 89 minutes.
- Where can I watch Westworld?
- In United States, Westworld is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home.
