Movielogr
Wild Wild West (1999)
Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld
Twitter Facebook Google+Most recently watched by themarc
Overview
Legless Southern inventor Dr. Arliss Loveless plans to rekindle the Civil War by assassinating President U.S. Grant. Only two men can stop him: gunfighter James West and master-of-disguise and inventor Artemus Gordon. The two must team up to thwart Loveless’ plans.
Rated PG-13 | Length 106 minutes
Actors
Will Smith | Kevin Kline | Kenneth Branagh | Salma Hayek | M. Emmet Walsh | Ted Levine | Frederique van der Wal | Musetta Vander | Sofia Eng | Garcelle Beauvais | Bai Ling | Rodney A. Grant | E.J. Callahan | Debra Christofferson | Buck Taylor | James Lashly | Dean Rader Duval | Jerry Wills | Mike H. McGaughy | Christian Aubert | Orestes Matacena | Ian Abercrombie | Ismael 'East' Carlo | Bob Rumnock | Gary Carlos Cervantes | Jerry Potter | Mik Scriba | Michael Sims | J.J. Perry | Dennis Keiffer | Derek Mears
Viewing History (seen 2 times)
| Date Viewed | Device | Format | Source | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 06/25/2024 | TV | DVD | Library | 5.5 stars |
| 11/25/1999 | Other | Other | Other | 5 stars |
| (Average) 5.25 stars |
Viewing Notes
Happy 25th Anniversary to this movie! (Released on June 30 1999)
I’m sure there has to an episode of HDTGM on this movie bc HOW DID THIS MOVIE GET MADE. It’s such a weird mishmash of so many things that perhaps on their own may be okay but all together it doesn’t work, the screenplay anyways. That said, if I found a used Blu-ray of this I’d snap it up. I almost considered just buying the BD but having not seen it for 25 years I wanted to give it a spin since I recall it not being good plus it’s reputation as being a terrible movie. It is bad but also very fascinating and occasionally entertaining.
Crazy thing is that everyone knows this assignment and is putting in the work… unfortunately this assignment is not a good one, a slapstick riff on an already campy tv show steampunk western. I feel like this movie really laid the foundation for Kenneth Branagh’s later characters like Poirot bc that dude is really going for it. Just gonzo OTT performance and I love it. Smith is good and Kline is fine. Salma Hayek added for the eye candy as she literally serves no other purpose. Fun to see both Bai Ling and Musetta Vander (along w/supermodel Federique) as Branagh’s henchwomen. Bai Ling even gets a few choice lines of dialogue. Cool to see Derek Mears pop up at the end.
Given how often things get remade or new adaptations are greenlit, I’m a little surprised they haven’t tried another one of these. Then again, this movie may have poisoned the well for the rest of time.
No comments yet. Log in and be the first!