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Westworld (2016) - TV Series Review (Season 1)

"These violent delights have violent ends."

Westworld is a sci-fi series from HBO and is about a futuristic western-themed park populated by artificial being or hosts (as they are called in the series) where rich people can come and do whatever they want.

The premise alone was enough for me to warrant a watch as the subject matter of the series is something I have a very high interest in. And to my utmost delight, the series deeply explored it and gave me the experience I always wanted. 

It is created by Jonathon Nolan (brother of Christopher Nolan) and Lisay Joy, and they both did a marvelous job with it. The world, the characters; the moral, ethical and philosophical dilemmas; all the interesting stuff I look forward to in things tackling this genre were top notch. 

The series boasted an impressive cast with some A-List actors thrown in the mix and the resulting acting was good to spectacular across the board, but the two standouts for me were Anthony Hopkins and Thandie Newton. Anthony Hopkins doesn't really need any introduction, and the dude killed it in every scene, every single scene. Thandie Newton had an interesting role and she performed it perfectly. Her charm and fierceness outshined almost everything in the later episodes.

From set design to special effects to clever editing and pacing, it was extremely well put together. High production quality series. And the soundtrack accompanying was equally great, varying a lot in tone just like the series.  

The only thing I can really say was a flaw for me and not a small nitpick were the action sequences. I don't know but there was this sloppy feeling to most of them. I'm not saying they were bad or anything, they were still good and enjoyable, but when you have everything else SO GOOD, this stood out like a sore thumb. 

Now, due to the nature of the series, any small details can be a potential spoiler, so I'll just keep it short and not give away anything (trust me, I can go on and on about the show but it will be too spoiler-ish). My advice is that if you haven't watched it yet, give it a try regardless of your preference of genre. And if you happen to get hooked, DO NOT read about theories and rumors etc on the net until you are done with the series. Going in completely blind is the best way to experience it.

Best new TV series of 2016 IMO, alongside Stranger Things, and the first season was so dense and well-crafted that it felt like I have watched a mini-series by the time it ended. If they can manage that level of quality in the next seasons, this could end up being one of my favorite series of all time. Sucks that season 2 will be out in 2018. :(

9.5/10
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