Futureworld (1976)

Director: Richard T Heffron
Starring: Peter Fonda, Blythe Danner, Arthur Hill

Synopsis:
Reporters are invited by the Delos Corporation to review their revamped theme park in the aftermath of the Westworld tragedy.

Impressions:
There was certainly fertile ground to explore with what was established in the original Westworld, but this doesn't make the most of it. It's a fairly boring, generic conspiracy thriller, odd as it sounds calling a movie about a robot theme park "generic". Production values aren't terribly high, with the costuming for the eponymous Futureworld particularly bad. A lot of what's actually interesting about the setting doesn't get explored and the villain's plot isn't half as interesting as it could be. Also, this is just personal bias speaking, but I really don't like intrepid reporter stories, so that takes points away too. Fans of The Rockford Files might appreciate Stuart Margolin's role as the maintenance worker Harry. Yul Brynner makes an appearance for an ultimately pointless dream sequence, which is a waste. Credit where credit's due, it does pick up a bit for the climax, but it feels a touch on the too little, too late side. There's also some very early CG on display, which may be of some interest to VFX history buffs. In the end, this film didn't do much for me and I don't imagine it'll do much for you, but you might find something almost worthwhile. Take it or leave it.

Rating:
50/50