Futureworld

Directed by Richard T. Heffron, Futureworld follows two reporters (Peter Fonda’s Chuck and Blythe Danner’s Tracy) as they uncover sinister happenings within a series of interactive theme parks. It’s compelling subject matter that is, at the outset, employed to relatively promising effect by Heffron, as the filmmaker, working from a screenplay by Mayo Simon and George Schenck, does a nice job of delivering an engaging opening stretch that’s elevated by eye-catching visuals (and sets) and an intriguing mystery – with Fonda and Danner’s personable efforts enhancing the watchable vibe. There’s little doubt, then, that Futureworld‘s slow-but-steady transformation into a distressingly lackluster endeavor is disappointing, to say the least, with the growing emphasis on Chuck and Tracy’s impossibly tedious investigation, which includes their endless skulking through the massive park, ensuring that the whole thing peters out to a decidedly palpable degree – thus securing the picture’s place as a mostly interminable endeavor that fares even worse than its underwhelming predecessor.

*1/2 out of ****