Westworld: When Androids Run Amok

Yul Brynner as an android.

Delos is a luxury resort made up of three immersive, android‑populated theme parks: Westworld, Romanworld, and Medievalworld. Guests are greeted with a polished, almost too-perfect welcome that promises “the vacation of your dreams” in a place where nothing can go wrong. The staff present the resort as a flawless, high‑end escape where every desire can be indulged safely, thanks to the supposedly infallible android hosts. It’s a sales pitch wrapped in luxury and reassurance.

Richard Benjamin plays Peter Martin, a first-time visitor, who is still coping with the breakdown of his marriage. His friend John (James Brolin) has brought him to Westworld to forget about his troubles and indulge in his fantasy of living in the Old West. Initially, Peter is skeptical. But after defeating a gunslinger (Yul Brynner) in a saloon shootout and spending the night in a rowdy brothel, he begins to enjoy his vacation.

However, unknown to Peter and John, the scientists that operate the park have noticed some inconsistencies in the behavior of the androids. When a cascading system failure transforms some of the androids into killers, the two men must fight for their survival.

Bestselling author Michael Critchton wrote and directed Westworld (1973). It marked his theatrical film directing debut (he helmed the made-for-TV movie Pursuit one year earlier). The film's theme is one that would become prevalent in many Critchton books and films: When humans build powerful systems they don’t fully understand, the systems eventually stop behaving the way we expect. The most obvious extension of Westworld is Jurassic Park, in which there is a park (again) populated by man-made creatures (again) that react in an unexpected and violent way (again).

Richmond Benjamin.

Westworld is built on a fascinating premise, but its emotional core is thin: the film never invests enough in its characters for us to truly care when their lives are threatened. James Brolin’s John is so smug and self‑assured that he barely registers the danger around him, while Richard Benjamin’s Peter mostly frets about his failed marriage. Other guests—such as Dick Van Patten’s eager Medievalworld visitor—appear briefly and vanish before we can form any attachment. The result is a film rich in ideas but emotionally cold, a clinical exploration of technological hubris that keeps viewers intellectually engaged yet distant from the human stakes.

The supporting cast includes Yul Brynner as an android gunslinger--his all‑black outfit intentionally styled to evoke his iconic role as Chris Adams in The Magnificent Seven. Brynner also appears briefly as the Gunslinger in the best-forgotten Westworld sequel Futureworld (1976), which did not involve Critchon. Star Trek fans may recognize Majel Barrett, Nurse Chapel on the original Star Trek, as the brothel madam.

The Westworld TV series (2016-2022) is not a continuation of Crichton's film. Rather, it is a rethinking that reflects on and expands the original's themes.