A 1960s TV show received the movie treatment a few summers back and it was “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.” I didn’t expect much and wasn’t wrong in my predicted disappointment because the track record of this kind of remake isn’t very impressive. “Bewitched” is just another Will Ferrell stinker and other TV-to-movie efforts are not as decent as the “Star Trek” movie franchise. However, there was one that had some potential: TV’s “The Wild Wild West” became “Wild Wild West” (why do they screw around with even just dropping “The” from the title?) and filmmakers did a neat casting turn by casting Will Smith to reprise the role of “James ‘Jim’ West” that began with film and TV veteran Robert Conrad. Alas, it just doesn’t measure up to the kitschy series that ran on CBS starting in 1965.
‘Wild Wild West’
(1999; 106 minutes; rated PG-13; directed by Barry Sonnenfeld and starring Will Smith, Kevin Kline, Kenneth Branagh and Salma Hayek)
WILL SMITH CHOSE THIS OVER ‘THE MATRIX’ … OUCH!
(NOTE: I expanded this review with additional opinion and trivia and the updating of links on April 17, 2021.)
In doing a little research to review the film “Wild Wild West,” I came across the term “steampunk.” By definition, it’s a sub-genre of science fiction in which steam-powered devices are used. Hmmm. Steampunk. Interesting to call “Wild Wild West” part of this sub-genre. The movie itself? Well, let’s just call it “bad,” despite it having a lot of promise through the premise and cast.
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“Wild Wild West” is the movie translation of the 1965 TV show “The Wild Wild West” and its run-up had a lot of promise: solid casting with a cool black guy is now the lead character instead of a white-bread ’60s TV icon; a decent plot for this kind of film because it stays true to the original; and a supporting cast that should have been much more effective than it turned out to be.
The primary cast as a disappointment individually as well as a whole: The actors resumes today include an Oscar win and eight other nominations between them. Still, such talent couldn’t save this stinkbomb.
As you might guess, there’s not much to enjoy with this one – save for the work of co-star Kevin Kline. Hey, if the movie poster gives you the names of the characters (which indicates that they were hoping fans would remember them from the TV show), then you can pretty much be guaranteed it’s not going to be very good.
Ouch: It was so bad that years later it was reported that star Will Smith apologized to the TV show’s star, Robert Conrad, and said he understood why the TV star refused a cameo in the film. Conrad was quoted as saying the script was so bad he didn’t want any part of it and even accepted the film’s “worst” awards at the Razzies to show his displeasure.
In a nutshell, you’ve got a rough-and-tough federal agent (Will Smith as “James T. ‘Jim’ West”) who’s teamed up with a braniac scientist-ahead-of-his-time federal agent (Kevin Kline as “Artemus Gordon”) to foil a plot by an arch-villain (the wonderful Kenneth Branagh as “Dr. Arliss Loveless”). Branagh has developed advanced weapons and threatens the security of the country and Smith and Kline have to save it. A bunch of one-liners later (and a wonderful make-up bit by Kline) and they’ve been joined by Salma Hayek as “Rita Escobar.” It all plays out predictably and staggers to a close where you’re grateful to see the credits roll.
Although there are some great one-liners from Smith and Kline here and a funny scene or two (Smith’s speech at a lynching is amusing – if anything can be called amusing at a lynching), there’s not much else going for it. The machines are inventive but come off simply lackluster.
Here’s a quick rundown of the primary cast:
- A two-time Oscar nominee (not for this one), Smith comes off as a cool guy at first, but appears to lose interest in the role as it goes along. By the end, he’s obviously trying too hard to rescue a character that cannot be rescued. The only thing is that Smith’s pure talent and watchability on screen carries him through this. He has also been in “Hitch” and his signature role in the “Men in Black” franchise has become iconic.
- An Oscar winner (not for this one), Kline actually does some good work here. As the slightly snooty and always “scientific” sidekick to Smith, he does a good job from impersonating President Abraham Lincoln to dressing like a woman. He plays a good foil to Smith’s caustic comments and has a bit of an acidic tongue himself. “Wild Wild West” is the second film in the 1990s where Kline plays a character pretending to be the president (the other is “Dave” – click here for my review). He got a supporting actor Oscar for “A Fish Called Wanda” as Jamie Lee Curtis’ wacky lover.
- A five-time Oscar nominee (not for this one), Branagh is hamstrung – no pun intended – in the role of the wheelchair-bound “Dr. Loveless.” He does a decent job conveying the role, but there just isn’t enough there for him to develop. Branagh was nominated for both an acting Oscar as well as one for directing “Henry V” and was also nominated for “Hamlet” and “My Week with Marilyn.”
- An Oscar nominee (not for this one), Hayek gives a simply wasted effort here. Her character isn’t much; she doesn’t do much with the character; and it looks as if the filmmakers were just going through the motions with having a name actor as the female lead. Hayek was much better the same year as “Wild Wild West” in “Dogma” as a muse (click here for my review) but was also window dressing, but a little bit deeper window dressing, in “After the Sunset” with Pierce Brosnan (click here for my review). Hayek earned her nomination for “Frida.”
- Never-Oscar nominated Ted Levine (obviously didn’t break the string here) is used to playing eclectic roles and this one is no exception. Levine plays “Gen. ‘Bloodbath’ McGrath” and has probably one of the five grossest scenes I can think of (a bunch of earwax coming out of his somewhat of a hearing aid). He’s OK, but like others here, there’s not much for him to work with. Levine was the serial killer in “The Silence of the Lambs” (click here for my review) and a right-wing gunman in “Betrayed” (click here for my review). You probably remember him best as “Lt. Leland Stottlemeyer” on TV’s “Monk” or “Sgt. Tanner” on “The Fast and the Furious.”
- Finally, there’s a nice turn here by never-Oscar nominated M. Emmett Walsh (obviously didn’t break the string here) as “Coleman.” He’s the train conductor who witnesses bizarre behavior by Smith and Kline and he’s actually one of the few watchable characters here. Walsh was also in “Blade Runner;” was on TV’s “Home Improvement” as “Jill’s” father; and was the diving coach in “Back to School” with Rodney Dangerfield (click here for my review). He was also the doctor who gave Chevy Chase a “Moon River” probe in “Fletch” (click here for my review – or click here to see the “Moon River” video clip).
A big thumbs-down to director Barry Sonnenfeld, who should have known better. Doing a film this bad had to teach him some lessons because his next movie would be the simply terrific and outstanding, but little-noticed and never-remembered, “Big Trouble” (click here for my review) with Tim Allen and Rene Russo from the same year as “Wild Wild West.” Too bad this one’s on your resume, Barry. Thank goodness you have “Men in Black” under your directorial belt.
“Wild Wild West” was the 17th ranked film at the domestic box office for 1999 with $113.8 million in ticket sales, according to Box Office Mojo. Although an initial loss since its budget was a big $170 million, it takes in $221.1 worldwide, according to Wiki. “Wild Wild West” had the biggest budget of any film released in 1999. The other films from 1999 that I’ve reviewed are:
- “Dogma” (sensational social drama) – click here for my review
- “Office Space” (cult anti-corporate classic) – click here for my review
- “Pushing Tin” (solid drama) – click here for my review
- “The Thomas Crown Affair” (excellent drama) – click here for my review
Assorted cast and film notes (via IMDb.com):
- Usually I write about a potentially bad casting choice, but today it’s a bad decision to accept a role. Smith said he took the part of “Jim West” here over an offer of being “Neo” in “The Matrix.” Big mistake, Will. Big, big mistake … and he knows it since he has been quoted saying it’s the biggest mistake he has made in his career.
- In another good career decision, George Clooney turned down the role given to Kline because it wasn’t the headliner of the film. Good move, George, even if it was because you were too vain to take a co-starring role.
- Seven years before the release of “Wild Wild West,” the film as set to star Mel Gibson and be directed by Richard Donner. It just didn’t happen (they obviously knew something that should have been uncovered in the future).
- Directly from IMDb.com: “Will Smith said that he knew the movie wasn’t any good and he was embarrassed when it earned almost $50 million in its opening weekend. Years later, Smith apologized publicly to Robert Conrad (star of the original TV series) and said now that he was older and more experienced, he understood Conrad’s anger and criticism of the film version, as well as Conrad’s refusal to make a cameo appearance in it.”
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