Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld
Written by Jim & John Thomas (story), S.S. Wilson & Brent Maddock and Jeffrey Price & Peter S. Seaman (screenplay)
Cast: Will Smith, Kevin Kline, Kenneth Branagh, Salma Hayek, M. Emmet Walsh, Ted Levine, Frederique Van Der Wal, Musetta Vander, Sofia Eng, Bai Ling, Garcelle Beauvais, Buck Taylor, Derek Mears
Soundtrack: Elmer Bernstein
(I mean, Steampunk is technically sci-fi, right?)
I’m not a Boomer, so I have no particular fealty to the Robert Conrad show of the 1960s, of which Wild Wild West is loosely inspired by (not unlike Mission: Impossible), but if the reason you don’t like this movie is because you feel it did the original show dirty, then there’s not much I can say to convince you otherwise (though I can definitely appreciate having passion for cherished properties).
On the contrary, I was a young lad at the time Wild Wild West was released, which I suppose put me at least on the outer edge of the target demographic (boy oh boy do I remember that song), although I did not see it theatrically (my mom’s a Robert Conrad fan, so she certainly had no impetus to take me). I’d catch bits and pieces here and there on cable, but I don’t think I fully sat down and watched it until a couple of years ago. Despite the film’s reputation as a bad movie, I have to say, I found it very entertaining, and seeing it on the big screen last year only affirmed my experience.
First of all, it’s directed by Barry Sonnenfeld (Men in Black), shot by Michael Ballhaus (Scorsese’s primary cinematographer from After Hours to The Departed), and has music by Elmer Bernstein (he scored a little movie called Ghost Busters), so, right off the bat, things can’t be all bad.
Secondly, I like the steampunk angle of it. Yes, not everything still holds up visually from 1999, and some things perhaps get a bit too silly, but, by and large, there are some really fun concepts that are well-executed, both large and smaller Q-gadget scale.
Third, I enjoy the playing around with history (after all, I was a history major). Admittedly, there are some uncomfortable tonal shifts (some may call them inconsistencies) in this area, but part of that is undoubtedly Sonnenfeld’s twisted sense of humor, which I’m mostly okay with. And, frankly, much of the subject matter is a little more relevant than some people may care to admit (dare I suggest, did Wild Wild West crawl so HBO’s Watchmen could sprint?).
Lastly, I actually like the performances. Obviously, Will Smith is Will Smith, you can take him or leave him, but Kevin Kline turns in a solid comedic performance, and, most importantly, Kenneth Branagh appropriately devours the scenery as the mustache-twirling Dr. Loveless. Overall, I get the impression that everyone knew they weren’t making high art, and allowed themselves to have fun with it, while still taking it seriously enough to not make it a farce.
It may not be a “great” movie. At the end of the day it may simply be big budget schlock (which I’m okay with), but more than anything else, Wild Wild West is fun, and that’s all I need it to be. I definitely recommend giving it another chance if it’s been a while since you’ve last seen it.
Rating: ★★★½ (out of five)