region 2 DVD. pub: Optimum Classic OPTD1442. 103 minute DVD with no extras. Price: £15.99 (UK). stars: Peter Fonda, Blythe Danner, Arthur Hill, John Ryan, Stuart Margolin and Yul Brynner.

Anyone who watched 'Westworld' will not be able to forget Yul Brynner's relentless robotic march. Years ahead of 'Terminator', Yul was more believable and frightening than Arnold Schwarzenegger. Sadly, the sequel is a pale reflection of the original.

It's also a bit of a cheat! Despite the fact that he is prominent in the movie's marketing, Yul Brynner only appears in a brief cameo role. Nonetheless, this common ploy which is still going on today shouldn't detract from 'Futureworld's overall enjoyment but placing him in a silly dance routine still seems to be ill cast and idiosyncratic. On top of this, the movie is very 1970s, a decade maybe not the best loved of all in our memories.



Do not be dismayed by these comments. On its own, 'Futureworld' isn't a bad film. It's just unfortunate that it is a sequel to a very good film and making comparisons is a natural thing to do. While it doesn't come out very well beside 'Westworld', it has its moments and there was a lot worse being churned out in the mid-70s.

You've got to remember, this was 33 years ago, before Reagan was President and Maggie Thatcher was Prime Minister. Calculators were rudimentary, cell phones didn't exist and the delivery of a home computer was years away. Special effects in the movies did not have the benefit (or detraction) of sophisticated computerised imagery.

Indeed, a lot of effects in 'Futureworld' seem a bit amateurish but you've got to remember the era of its production. In saying that, this movie was one of the first to use computerised images, of a robot's hand and face, so in many ways it was ahead of other movies at that time, excuse the pun.

The basic plot of 'Futureworld' is very simple. A couple of hotshot reporters, played by Peter Fonda and Blythe Danner, fly out to the holiday resort of Delos, named after the Greek island but obviously not the same, to investigate the re-vamped leisure centre which had its serious problems a couple of years before when the robots went mad and killed the holidaymakers. (Surely I wasn't the only one taking some degree of satisfaction when the robots gained their revenge?) The reporters' function was to essentially rubber-stamp the new resort's safety and stability.

'Futureworld' is essentially a theme park set in the future, a Science Fiction environment as opposed to the Western, Roman and other historical themes in 'Westworld'. The happy holidaymakers can go into space and ski on Mars, amongst other pastimes, and generally get a feel of the shape of things to come.

As you would expect, everything is not as it seems. People are killed off and replaced by robots. Arthur Hill who plays the boss of Delos has an ambition to do away with all world leaders and substitute them with robots who will do as they are told. This, it is claimed, will make the planet a safer place and avoid catastrophe in the future. You know, this idea isn't all that bad! Much as you would want this to be true, the spoilsport reporters put the boot in to his plan.

The movie becomes very exciting when the reporters are selected for extermination and replacement. On secretly discovering this fact, a frantic chase begins between the reporters and their robotic counterparts. It becomes a close-run thing! Do they escape to tell the world of the dastardly plans of Delos or do they become controlled robots, destined to live a subservient, mechanical existence? Watch the film to find out!

Despite the limitations mentioned in its comparison to 'Westworld', this movie is actually quite enjoyable. It's also funny in parts and it is worth buying. However, there is no way I'd be paying the recommended retail price of almost £18. The review copy contained only the basic movie, which incidentally hasn't been digitised and nothing else. There are no extras! Such a price is just not realistic and I can imagine that this movie will end up much cheaper from various sources on the Internet. Probably Wal-Mart or Tesco will eventually sell it for less than a fiver.

As to the feasibility of the plot, well it isn't very likely. Even today, creating robots of such sophistication is light years away and you can rest assured that the past and present politicians have not been replaced by robots. After all, nobody...just nobody could make a robot as bad as George W. Bush.

Rod MacDonald