Wild Wild West (1999)

The two best hired guns in the West must save President Grant from the clutches of a 19th century inventor-villain.

Director:

Barry Sonnenfeld

Writers:

Jim Thomas (story), John Thomas (story),

Stars:

Will Smith, Kevin Kline, Kenneth Branagh

10 wins & 11 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Will Smith	...	Capt. James West
Kevin Kline	...	U.S. Marshal Artemus Gordon / Ulysses S. Grant
Kenneth Branagh	...	Dr. Arliss Loveless
Salma Hayek	...	Rita Escobar
M. Emmet Walsh	...	Coleman
Ted Levine	...	General 'Bloodbath' McGrath
Frederique Van Der Wal	...	Amazonia (as Frederique van der Wal)
Musetta Vander	...	Munitia
Sofia Eng	...	Miss Lippenrieder
Bai Ling	...	Miss East
Garcelle Beauvais	...	Belle
Mike H. McGaughy	...	Big Reb (as Mike McGaughy)
Jerry Wills	...	Other Reb
Rodney A. Grant	...	Hudson
Buck Taylor	...	Cross-Eyed Reb

Storyline

Jim West is a guns-a-blazing former Civil War hero. Artemus Gordon is an inventive U.S. Marshal who excels in disguise. When the United States is threatened by psychotic Confederate Arliss Loveless, President Ulysses Grant teams the duo up to bring him to justice. On a hazard-packed train journey from Washington D.C. to Utah, West and Gordon must combine their skills to best Loveless and his diabolical machines.

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Plot Keywords:

inventor | u.s. marshal | general | confederate | washington d.c. | 

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Taglines:

On July 2nd, it's a whole new west.

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Genres:

Action | Western | Comedy | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for action violence, sex references and innuendo

Details

Official Sites:

Official Site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 June 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

As Loucas Aventuras de James West

Filming Locations:

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$170,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£2,487,176 (UK) (13 August 1999)

Gross:

$113,745,408 (USA) (1 October 1999)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Peters Entertainment, Sonnenfeld Josephson Worldwide Entertainment, Todman, Simon, LeMasters Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The sequences on both Artemus Gordon's and Dr. Loveless' trains interiors were shot on sets at Warner Bros. The train exteriors were shot in Idaho.

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Goofs

When Jim is being towed behind the train and the cable snaps, he is shown accelerating towards Loveless' train, but in reality he would have been traveling in the same direction.

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Quotes

Capt. James West: That's it, no more Mr. Knife guy.

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Connections

Spoofs From Russia with Love (1963)

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Soundtracks

"Bailamos"
Written by Mark Taylor, Paul Barry
Performed by Enrique Iglesias

User Reviews

Yes, it's absolutely horrible (I'd have said it's a Vile Vile Mess, but I bet it's already been taken).

1 out of 10

Wow. I'd heard so many awful things about this movie. One ugly remark came rolling after another until the point that it'd pretty much taken its toll on me and I was sure I'd end up liking the movie just on the pure basis of the belief that it couldn't be that bad. It is that bad, and deserves every bit of the harsh criticism poured upon it. Wild Wild West is easily tied for the worst summer blockbuster I've seen in, well, possibly forever (the other one would be Tomb Raider). But at least it's still a smidgen better than Patch Adams.

What's the story? Will Smith and Kevin Kline (who have zero comic chemistry)(actually more like somewhere in the negatives, since they actually suck the fun out of the action) are secret service agents in the 1870's, trying to protect Ulysses S. Grant from a madman named Dr. Loveless (Kenneth Branagh, embarrassing himself to colossal extents). What we get is one of the most awfully unfunny movies in existence. As a matter of fact, what kept in my seat was wondering if the jokes could possibly get worse. And yes, they do. On a morbid level, there's some fascination to be had with what director Barry Sonnenfeld believes is good humor. The action's too sparse to ever be thrilling, the editing is incompetent (anybody else wonder how that one "indestructible" henchman suddenly met his demise at the end?), and the special effects MIGHT satisfy little kids. If you actually watch this movie in a crowd, it's the kind that induces blushes on whoever suggested watching this movie in the first place.