Reviewed by Rama Gaind.
Directors: Jonathan Nolan, Frederick E.O. Toye, Jonny Campbell, Richard J. Lewis, Michelle MacLaren, Neil Marshall, Roadshow Entertainment.
Cast: Evan Rachel Wood, Ed Harris, Thandie Newton, Jeffrey Wright, James Marsden.
Westworld is an atypical contemporaneous television show that makes for a good sequel. A futuristic series about a fictional western world where humans can mingle with robots, it has some solid drama and twists and turns that’ll keep you guessing.
In Season Two, Dolores (Wood) takes charge, Maeve (Newton) is on a mission and the Man in Black (Harris) is back. Chaos takes control in this dark odyssey about the dawn of man-made realisation, the birth of a new form of life and the evolution of sin.
There’s a distinguishing look about Westworld. Largely responsible for this are cinematographers John Grillo (Preacher), Darran Tiernan (Star Trek: Discovery) and colorist Shane Harris, who digitally processed the final image of a project.
Care has been taken to preserve the look of Season One for sequences set in ‘familiar environs like the mountains, forests and deserts of Westworld itself and the underground control rooms, fabrication facilities and programming bays located within the formation known as the Mesa’.
A new look, however, is added for some entirely new locations like Raj World and Shogun World. Harris also says ‘several other new environments are given their own distinctive palettes’.
There’s ample opportunity for conjecture over the solid impression of how persuasive mythology can be. While it is the stuff of anonymity and myths, the focus is less on characters.
Having said that, there are some main characters in the second half who have been largely left in place for some episodes. Things are on the verge of happening, with disclosures to give them meaning, as seen in the episode titled, Kiksuya.
Based on the 1973 film of the same name, Westworld is a television series created by Nolan and Lisa Joy. While Michael Crichton wrote and directed the film, the Emmy-winning series sees the birth of a new form of life on earth.
Special features of the three-disc Blu-ray are two new exclusive featurettes, reflections on Season Two and short films with each episode.
