This series is so hard to rate as I both love and dislike it...I waited to see episode one of season four, mainly because my husband who loves the series is convinced that they are going to turn the ship around and I will start loving the show again. *sigh*
I am going to start by being honest, I love Yul Brynner. No one plays an enigmatic character better than he did...which is why he made the original 1973 film Westworld for me. I am not a science fiction fan (I'm an actual scientist, I know it's rare), but it was easy to see and understand why the 1973 film had such a cult following. It also made it easy to recommend when I met individuals who liked science fiction but had never seen it. A big part of the film is the mystery or the unknown. You have lots of unanswered questions and your mind is left open to think about the what if's. I would go a step further to say that it sparks the imagination and creativity, kind of like a good book.
Now focusing back on this HBO series...the production is amazingly good. It seems that no money was spared to bring to life this beautiful production. I love the use of the player piano to do current day pop songs a wonderful touch that just showed that in season one they got it...got the charm, got the allure. Anthony Hopkins is fantastic as Dr. Robert Ford and to this day remains my favorite character in the series.
Season one gives the viewers something more than the film does, it gives us a better look behind the curtain into the creation of the parks and the writers...this was interesting. I would say season one is great television and worth watching which is high praise from me, because as mentioned I don't care for science fiction.
Season Two was not as memorable, but it explores more the rich entitled nature of those who own the park and are rich enough to use it to do bad things. (I think this was done to build sympathy for the robots?)
Season three was a completely forgettable waste of time that for me was when the series really "jumped the shark" so to speak. Very little time was spent in the park...lots of killing, rioting in streets, an algorithm making decisions for the humans....sorry I already had another nap.
Season four...ok I just watched episode one with my husband last night because he is a huge fan and has really been looking forward to it. He, who I introduced the original film to years ago, is convinced that this season is going be better than the last (which he also didn't care for). But that is the difference between him and I...the big reveal at the end of episode one...didn't care and that ultimately is the problem, they left me at the end of season three not caring.
They have shown us the awful things that the humans do in the park...the humans are bad and the robots are bad, what is left to care about in this new "future world" they have created? I am sad to say that I don't think going back to the park is going to fix the apathy that the show runners created in season three.
I am giving this series a 7...because I don't know how to rate a 8-9, that goes to 5-6 and then down to 0. I hope for my husbands sake it gets better, but I am not sure I am willing to watch much more.
I will give a shout out to some phenomenal acting by Anthony Hopkins, Ed Harris, Thandiwe Newton, and Jeffrey Wright. They are quite the contrast to Evan Rachel Wood who is giving the stoniest performance ever and truth be told I don't know if it is the actress or the direction she is being given, but she is hard to watch...including episode 1 season 4 (human...what a joke?!?). Also I want to give another shout out to two characters I really enjoyed: Lee Sizemore (Simon Quarterman) and Hector Escaton (Rodrigo Santoro)...both were interesting and added a lot for me. Finally, the character I wanted to see meet with a violent end: Charlotte Hale (Tessa Thompson) (yes there is some holdover from Veronica Mars...I'll be honest), but I harbored a lot of dislike for this character and was left less than satisfied.
