Wild Wild West Review
by Christian Pyle (tlcclp AT aol DOT com)July 8th, 1999
Wild Wild West (1999)
a review by Christian Pyle
Another July Fourth weekend, another big Will Smith action/sci fi release. This time around, Smith stars in the big screen version of the "Wild Wild West" TV series (1965-1970), a light-hearted, campy western with lots of science fiction elements. Although I'm generally opposed to the trend of making every 1960's TV series into a movie, I enjoyed "Wild Wild West."
It's 1869, a few years after the Civil War. Government agent Jim West (Smith) is tracking former Confederate general "Bloodbath" McGrath (Ted Levine, best known as Buffalo Bill in "Silence of the Lambs"), who was responsible for slaughtering a community of freed slaves which included Jim's parents. Jim collides with marshal and inventor Artemus Gordon (Kevin Kline), who is following McGrath to find a group of kidnapped scientists. President Grant (also Kline) assigns Jim and Artie to work on the case together.
They trail McGrath to Louisiana and find that the mastermind behind the abduction of the scientists is Dr. Arliss Loveless (Kenneth Branagh), a mad scientist who lost half of his body creating super-weapons for the Confederacy. Loveless plans to conquer the country and carve it up between himself and various other nations. With the help of a giant mechanical spider, Loveless kidnaps the president just before Grant can drive the golden spike joining the transcontinental railroad.
The appeal of "Wild Wild West" depends almost entirely on the charisma of Will Smith. There's a scene in the movie where he charms a mob that is ready to lynch him, and that scene typifies Smith: he is irresistibly funny and likeable. Since he's playing an action hero, Smith swaggers a lot, talks tough, and acts cool, but it's his sense of humor and genial nature that make the movie fun.
Also delightful is Branagh's performance. Perhaps taking his cue from Jack Nicholson's Joker, Branagh revels in playing a campy, over-the-top cartoon villain. His Southern accent is deliberately exaggerated (he can do a more realistic one; check out "The Gingerbread Man"), and he grins broadly most of the time.
The weak link is Kline. He seems ill-pale, sagging, tired. The buddy film elements fall flat because Kline seems unable to hold up his end. His usual comic energy (on display as recently as "In & Out") is entirely absent. He's a bit funnier as Grant than as Artie.
For some reason, Salma Hayek is in this movie. Her character, Rita Escobar, is also on the trail of the scientists, but there are only token nods toward a romance between Rita and either hero. Rita wanders in and out of the movie, and the audience is not motivated to notice either her presence or her absence.
The script, from writers responsible for "Tremors" and "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?," has both strengths and weaknesses. The overall plot (kidnapped scientists, mad scientist plotting conquest, heroes with opposing personalities thrown together) is tired and predictable. However, there are small touches that are clever. I especially enjoyed how the gadgets Artie invents seem to work with nineteenth-century technology. For example, a miniature drill he carries is powered by an air pump in his boot heel. There is also a hint of intelligence in the theme of national unity: Loveless threatens to tear apart the country which has only recently be rejoined and chooses to strike just before the spike can be driven into the railroad that will physically unite west and east.
Elmer Bernstein's score deserves special mention. Smith's rap theme, which was featured in the trailers, is saved for the end credits. "Wild Wild" begins with an updated version of the TV theme, and Bernstein (who's scored over 150 movies but is best known for "The Magnificent Seven") gives us rousing, heroic music that draws on the long tradition of western movies.
Best known for "The Addams Family" and "Men in Black," director Barry Sonnenfeld has a style that is free-flowing, bizarre, and fun. Although his work as a director lacks the depth of his work as a cinematographer under other directors (most notably the Coen Brothers; Sonnenfeld photographed "Blood Simple," "Raising Arizona," and "Miller's Crossing"), he can be relied upon to deliver a movie that is visually interesting and unusual.
Grade: B-
© 1999 Christian L. Pyle
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