Search - Wild Wild West (Keepcase) on DVD

Should have been titled "Wild Wild WORST"!

tony_que | Cali, Valle, Colombia, S.A. | 11/14/1999

(2 out of 5 stars)

"When you go to see a Will Smith movie, you expect it to be entertaining and fast-paced. A movie with Kevin Kline might have your expectations leaning more in the direction of cerebral, tight-knit & solid entertainment. If Salma Hayek is in it, well ....at least you expect a flick with visual appeal ...1, 2, 3 STRIKES...Wild Wild West STRIKES OUT! TALK ABOUT DROPPING THE BALL ! Will Smith, whose laid-back, street-wise-cracking veneer,usually hides a well-focused on screen in- tensity that is both impossible to miss ordislike ...seemed to be sauntering through the film, feel- ing embarrassedly like a walking anachronism, con- sidering the "Old West" backdrop! Kevin Kline, on the other hand, who usually brings a certain air of bravura to his oft-times eccen- tric characterizations, seemed to display a marked inability to take himself seriously when in drag, (Which, unfortunately, is during a good chunk of the film)lapsing into a pathetic sort self-parody, which, considering the script, may have been the only way he could stomach the role ! Salma Hayek, for whom no one is exactly holding their breath for her to win an Oscar as Best Actress, seemed OBSESSED with getting her lines out with as little accent as possible...Despite the fact that she was clearly cast as Mexican in this film...(As opposed to her bit part in The FACULTY!) You could almost imagine "La Mejicanita" standing there, during shooting, with her Accent/ Dialogue Coach, just out of camera range! Salma... concentrate MORE on your ACTING, next time, O.K.?As far as Barry Sonnenfled's Directing is concern- ed...well, here we could imagine him running around frantically, till the last minute, editing & re-editing, trying to decide exactly what it is he was trying to do with "WILD"....and of course, not even coming CLOSE to getting it right!The ONLY reason I rated the movie 2 Stars (as op- posed to 0 Stars!) is because of the scope & thenovelty of the Special Effects. The idea of seeing all those well orquestrated, and at times visually stunning effects against an Old West backdrop was the only refreshing & original element in the film ...If you are not a diehard Special Effects buff, I can think of absolutely no reason on earth why you would find anything at all worth seeing in this pathetic excuse for a Blockbuster film !"

Who's West Was It?

Lonnie E. Holder | Columbus, Indiana, United States | 12/02/2004

(2 out of 5 stars)

"In the mid-60s there was a show called "Wild Wild West" that starred Robert Conrad as James "Jim" West, a western version of James Bond, and Ross Martin as his brainy sidekick Artemus Gordon. This show was creative and intelligent and yet full of action. The movie "Wild Wild West" starring Will Smith and Kevin Kline has nothing to do with that television show, unfortunately.

Will Smith is another Jim West and Kevin Kline is another Artemus Gordon in an alternate universe that never existed. In this universe the Wright brothers apparently were asleep as Artemus and Jim were tooling around a giant steam-powered iron spider that is unlikely to exist in any imaginable reality. Indeed, the only point of any vague historical accuracy is that there was a President Grant and there was a meeting of the railroads. After that, this movie is "The Twilight Zone" in the west.

In this fantasy movie Kenneth Branagh plays Dr. Loveless. Once again, forget the wonderful Michael Dunn as the original Dr. Loveless. Branagh has none of the charm and wit of the original. Dr. Loveless has decided to create his own empire based on the ability of his giant spider to trounce anyone who gets in his way. However, he seemed to have neglected to consider that an open cockpit is a sure way to eventually be shot. Along the way we see a number of other equally improbable devices that make for interesting special effects but continual disappointment with the movie.

I have yet to mention that not only is this west some bizarre fantasy version of the original west, but this version of Jim West has a continual string of one-liners that would have allowed him to do stand-up, but not in the alternate reality of this movie where no one seemed to understand his jokes, often including the audience. Kevin Kline also had a number of humorous lines, though his were more ironic and involved, and typically based on technology that exists only in the alternate reality of this world.

This movie does have its moments. If you like comedy and know little about the original "Wild Wild West," you may find the comedy overwhelms the total destruction of history and scientific feasibility; or perhaps you like stories of alternate realities. The special effects are wonderful. I admit that when I could overcome my disappointment that there was no attempt to remain within the vision of the original show I was fascinated by the gadgets. However, gadgetry alone does not overcome the unbelievable story.

Oh, and as if all the other flaws in the movie were not enough to disappoint a viewer, the DVD includes Will Smith doing a hip-hop song. Hip-hop in the west? Perhaps I watched this movie from the wrong perspective. Maybe if I had taken it for a farce, like "Monty Python and the Holy Grail," I would have liked the movie better. Then again, probably not.

"

Awful. Simply Awful. Every print should burn

SHAWN JAMES | Bronx, NY | 07/10/2003

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Wild Wild West is loosely based on the tongue in cheek TV show of the same name. Like most movies based on TV shows the producers violate the rule of TV in making the film: If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Every Alteration here only makes this big budget film all the disaster you've heard about.
I didn't believe Will Smith as Jim West. He plays this 1800's Marshall like all of the other roles in his film career. Smith isn't playing Jim West, he's "The Fresh Prince of the old west." If you've watched that sitcom you'll notice Smith acting goofy and making dumb jokes while the rest of the cast acts around him. The same thing applies here. Smith doesn't become a character in WWW. It is essentially Will smith being Will Smith in a cowboy costume while actors desperately try to act around him and the horrible script. Kevin Kline struggles with the role of Artemis Gordon because they don't give him any material to work with or a better actor to play off of. He and Smith have no chemistry. Salma Hayek was only hired to look pretty and act sweet here. To watch her really act, buy "Frieda." And the villain was just too over the top. After watching this film and "Independence Day" I realize that Will Smith is the luckiest man in Hollywood. He has no acting skills at all. However they pay him $20 million a film for just being himself. I can only shake my head and wonder why the Academy nominated him for an Oscar in "Ali." SOMEONE NEEDS TO TELL THE ACADEMY THAT YOU HAVE TO ACT IN ORDER TO BE NOMINATED FOR BEST ACTOR!
This film was not only done in by the casting, but the script as well. The story about ex confederates trying to turn the U.S. back the way it was in the pre-colonial period was puerile. The more the story progressed, the stupider it got. After watching this movie I seriously believe that somewhere in Hollywood there are Chimpanzees running the movie studios approving and writing these scripts. Bonzo cannot just be a movie character; he has to be a reality with dreck like this being made by the studios.
But the producers probably knowing that in between the wretched casting and the horrible script that this film was a disaster pulled out the post 1995 bad film repair kit known as special effects and CGI. They figured slap in a few stunts and a few special effects and they could pass this film off by telling the audience Will Smith was in it. The tongue-in-cheek inventions were so over the top they were boring, and the giant mechanical spider was a gimmick to get people's butts into seats. Thankfully, People saw through the CGI ruse and stayed away from this attempt to create a Will Smith franchise."

Wild Wild Miscasting

Scott T. Rivers | Los Angeles, CA USA | 12/14/1999

(2 out of 5 stars)

""Wild Wild West" is not a total fiasco, but it's easy to see why this big-budget revamp of the classic TV show never clicked. Simply put, Will Smith and Kevin Kline are not Robert Conrad and Ross Martin. There's no chemistry or rapport between Fresh Prince and Shakespeare Boy, which seriously damages the film's potential. Kenneth Branagh - for all his talents - doesn't hold a candle to Michael Dunn's original Dr. Loveless. Despite its impressive set design and visual effects, "Wild Wild West" falls flat. Here's some helpful advice to producers planning big-screen remakes of 1960s TV shows: If you cannot find the right actors, don't bother."