Great Movie With a sense of humor and creativity. Will Smith and Kevin Kline team up to bring the laughs to a higher level combined with an intersting mix of historical Events that creat a very funny Movie.

There's a lot of fighting (that's a euphemism for violence) in this movie, but nothing you can take seriously and I (who avoid violent movies like the plague) could stand it. It's a great flick. It overflows with wit and charm and imagination. West and Gordon play perfectly off each other. Their characters are clearly defined (no, this isn't Williams or Bergman), one dimensional though they be. I loved it. I've seen it 3 times, again last night. It's one of my favorite movies.

Big missed opportunity! This movie had so much potential. It seems as if the writers didn't give much thought to the plot. Many parts seem "thrown in", as if we have to show this so lets put it in. If they had just worried about telling a good story and not about having to show this character doing X and another character doing Y it could have been a terrific movie. You may enjoy it once, however, you probably wouldn't want to see it again.

good western/science fiction/comedy movie; some parts & language questionable for younger children, but overall a funny family movie

Although this movie is a little lacking on the remake of the original Wild Wild West....it's supposed to be that way! The comedy is the best. Being raised here in the Southeastern US States, I can tell you it's great the way all of the actors pull together for many many laughs and plays on the old Southern Ways. I own my own personal copy and can't watch the movie enough! Thanks!

When I was in middle school I believe and this movie was a hit, it was one of those things that breaks one's belief and hope in the species they are a part of. Why this movie, or the music from it proved a hit is nothing more than a testament to the idea that the earth might be better off being ran by cockroaches.

The "Wild Wild West" was a five-star TV show. It was so good that you would have thought that the powers that be in Hollywood would be unable to make a one-star mess out of it. But you would be wrong.

Casting the African-American Will Smith as Secret Service Agent James West in the place of the German-American Robert Conrad makes about as much sense as casting Justin Timberlake in Richard Roundtree's place as Shaft. Conrad played James West as the perfect combination of a man's man and a ladies man - much like James Bond, except a bit less refined and quite a bit more macho. Will Smith plays a wimpy, wiseguy, thinks-he's-cool-but-isn't James West. Before the film is half over, he'll have you cheering for the villain.

And speaking of the villain, in another piece of PC casting, the Hispanic dwarf, Dr. Miguelito Loveless, of the TV show is transformed here into Dr. Arliss Loveless, a double-amputee, Confederate flag-waving, Southern White. NO MINORITY VILLAINS ALLOWED!

Combine the poor casting with an especially inane script, and it all makes for one of the worst films of 1999. Despite all of the explosions and special effects, it still manages to be boring.

When I lived in Santa Fe,parts of the movie were being filmed at a ranch outside the city.There was a fire on the set---which sounds prophetic.It foretold a disaster.

I've seen the first 20 minutes&last 20 minutes of this movie,since the rest is unwatchable.In fact,these segments are unwatchable.There's a gross scene involving a head (even Will Smith looks like he's about to vomit).Kenneth Branagh has tons of awful make-up that would put Tammy Faye Bakker to shame&an unconvincing moustache.The dialogue between Smith&Branagh is made up of terrible racist&impotence jokes.Branagh,after all,has a bevy of scantily-clad beauties.

The final scenes are one looooong chase scene.Ohh,the agony!Avoid this movie at all costs.

What irks me most about this sorry film is that it blows the chance for a legitimate film version of the classic 60s TV series. There have been some very good and very bad remakes. This is in the very bad category and blows the chance for someone to do the TV series any justice in the future. Who's going to remake a WWW 2 or even watch it if it were made?

I don't know how a movie with so much going on can actually put me to sleep. Oh, yeah, because what was going on was not even the least bit interesting. Now I was shocked the feel this way, especially since Will Smith alone can carry a movie, but this film proved to be too much for even 'the greatest' himself. In the ninties it seemed as if Will Smith was on top of the box office with smash after smash (Independence Day, Men in Black) but Wild Wild West can't even come close to compairing with those two films. Hey, at least the soundtrack is tight. Anyways, Will Smith plays Jim West and Kevin Kline plays Gordon and the two of them are sent to find some torso of a man who has kidnapped the worlds top scientists so that he can build a weapon to take over the USA. So in the course of two hours time you see wierd gagets and loose women and some metal spider things and towns are destroyed and Will Smith dresses up like a woman (the best scene in the film) and really...thats all...I mean, the film itself has no substance. Another pitfall is the fact that this film can't save itself from being corny...really really corny. It falls into the same catagory as 'Men In Black 2'...stupid. The difference between films like this and Will Smith's more successful efforts (Men in Black and Hitch) is that the comedy in those films was smart, not stupid...and the comedy here is just an agrivance. Skip this one...it's not worth the agrivation.

WHAT A PIECE OF JUNK. they have taken a great tv show, which many of us fondly and raped it. this is so wrong headed i don't know where to start,but here goes.
1. why would they make a black man an agent in the 1800's when he couldn't go in many places and would stick out like a sore thumb. because of the race change for jim west this becomes series of crass racial jokes and has no place in a light hearted adventure series. in fact the tv show never stuped to that level,infact it showed that west's greatest villin was the small in size only dr.loveless played by the great michael dunn!he and west were always evenly matched and had great respect for each other,even when loveless was tring to kill him.
2.the changeing of loveless's person to a legless southern general,and once again the race card is used to makeloveless less likeable when on the show you really liked him even if he was a mad ,evil man.
well you get the idea this is the reason you should leave some things left unmade or in this case unremade. just the pits ,DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY ON THIS, instead by the complete first season of "THE WILD,WILD,WEST in june of 06 and see what the movie should have been.

first they cast a black man as an undercover agent in the wild west where he would never be able to help as they would never let him in most places. remember this was before political correctiness or civil rights. then they turn one of the best villins on t.v. into a racist man missing most of his body. then they add state of the art f/x and think they have a great movie. it's pure trash and gets one star because you can't give no stars. a waste and you should see the t.v. show if you want to see this concept really work well. just not good at all, a mess.

The movie starts out in a West Virginia town where Confederate soldiers are transporting nitro. First problem-West Virginia was a state that separated from Virginia to stay with the Union. Why would this town be sprawling with Confederate soldiers? Second problem-The Confederate soldier was perhaps the finest fighting soldier in the history of our nation. The endured forty mile a day marches, went perhaps three to four days without eating a morsel of corn, and constantly fought an army never less than twice their size. The problem is in this scene seven or eight of our nation's finest fighting men being karate kicked to death by a single x Union Calvary man. Third problem-General Bloodbath McGraft, wounded at the battle of Chickamonga. There was no such general. Forth problem-Jim West riding into Washington with the U.S. capitol dome being worked on in the distance...The capitol dome was completed in 1864, years before this scene was supposed to take place. Fifth problem-I might as well just mention that every technological marvel in this movie is fake. In fact, it isn't that these inventions such as the huge spider, the steam powered bike, the DaVinci aircraft, rubber noose, machine gun tank, and the super train were portrayed in the wrong era...they were never invented at any time! Sixth problem-Gordon says that West should not enter the ball in New Orleans as a free black in a room of "southern white x slave holders." Only 6% of the South owned slaves before or during the civil war. In fact, 90,000 free blacks fought for the South during the civil war. Seventh problem-the so called movement for Confederates to rise against the Union government historically never happened. And the eighth problem-was Grant creating the secret service. The secret service was created by two presidents before Grant. It started with Lincoln and the Pinkerton Agency. And the ninth problem is well the whole movie. If you enjoy a movie as false and unreal as the wizard of oz or the Little Mermaid then this film is for you. However, at least the Wizard of Oz and the Little Mermaid do not pretend to be of real historical substance.

I wonder if there's anyone out there who sometimes sees films that everyone berates, simply because you want to see for yourself whether or not they're right? This was what drew me to Wild Wild West. That and a desire to grasp how this state of affairs came to be.

This was a big budget summer movie starring Will Smith and Kevin Kline as the heros, directed by the man who cast Smith so well in Men In Black. It was an action comedy with two heroes trying to stop a megalomaniac tear their country apart while making the Old West look like the future. How could it fail?

My opinion is, it didn't have to. Wild Wild West is overall not an especially good film. But unlike some I've seen, I believe it could easily have been much better.

Who could fail to be impressed by seeing Smith ride into Washington past a Capitol Building still being constructed? And the vehicles and gadgetry in the film are awesome - the look of Jules Verne with the feel of James Bond. I just love it when futuristic technology gets dressed up as it might have looked 100 years ago.

Furthermore, Smith and Kline's characters (Captain James West and Agent Artemis Gordon respectively), although not expertly developed, have interesting parallels with one another. Both have different approaches to their highly dangerous and treacherous job as government agents, yet at heart they are very similar. Both are brave, cunning and capable, yet while Gordon relies on disguise and technical ingenuity, West is much more a soldier who relies most of all on his gun.

There's a classic "buddy" narrative between these two, as well as a "mutual love interest" narrative when the lovely Selma Hayek steps in. Smith is the same wise-cracking hero he played so well in Independence Day and Men In Black. Just like in Fierce Creatures, Kline plays two roles, also taking on the role of then President Ulysees S Grant. Kline expertly makes one virtually indistinguishable from the other. There's one scene where this talent takes on a life of its own, when Artemis Gordon disguises himself as the President. Can YOU tell which is which?

It's the beginning that unltimately lets Wild Wild West down. The action hots up as the film wears on, but due to a rather lukewarm offset I lose my initial interest by this point and only partly get it back by the end. There's also Kenneth Brannagh, rather miscast and scarcely believable as evil genius and staunch Confederate Dr Arliss Loveless, who's survived the American Civil War despite having to be strapped to a steam-powered life-support machine cum wheelchair! Oh well, at least his heart seems to be in it.

If you only go in for quality, highly recommended movies, leave Wild Wild West alone. But those of you who look for the best in everything, this is your film.

You know you love it. Film snobbery will make you a very cynical person. It was SUPPOSED to be tongue-in-cheak. And it was well paced, creative, increadible performances by most, Branaugh , Kline.etc.. involved.

Lighten up.

This movie was just plain awful. Will Smith deserves better than this. He's so capable he needs to find a better agent.

I didn't go into this movie expecting much, and I was pleasantly surprised. Part western, part cop/buddy flick, part sci-fi, WWW held its own. Smith and Kline did their standard great comedic jobs but Kenneth Branagh's over-the-top performance as an ultra-Confederate ultra-criminal was an unexpected treat.

If you've been waiting for an entertaining remake that's true to the original 60's sci-fi/western television series then keep looking because this isn't it. While this new version does have some really entertaining scenes in it and there are some trademark elements that relate the movie to the T.V. show when you add it all up what you are really getting is something very different from the original. While sometimes that can be a good thing when the source material is as good as Wild Wild West you get diminishing returns the further you move away from the source.

It's just Will Smith can't do Jim West. As a matter of fact Will Smith seems to be just playing Will Smith in this picture. There is very little difference in his performance here than there were in Men in Black and Independence Day. Not only does Will not pull off being a difference character, but he doesn't even pull off the historic era either. I'm sorry to say this too because I really like Will Smith in his other performances. It's just this time Will being Will doesn't cut it.

The script goes off on so many tangents it's hard to see why they even went with the T.V. show to begin with. Some details seem to be taken for granted without even trying to explain them. The characters are written to be static, especially West. The whole "buddy cop" theme between Will Smith and Kevin Kline has been done to death with nothing new being brought to the table here. The pacing of the script and the events in it don't blend in seamlessly either. I mean what's the deal here? Don't these writers have ANY pride in their work at all?

I guess if your a fan of steampunk technology that was so prevalent in the original series there is something to see here. Sometimes it works while other times it doesn't. Basically you just have to throw scientific feasibility out the window here. Even then the technology gets really ridiculous. The giant steam-powered spider is really stretching it. Granted some of the stuff is actually pretty neat and works in the whole steampunk genre. Too bad they went too far. At least the special effects used to make these machines come to life didn't look so bad.

While the movie has many, many flaws Wild Wild West is still a pretty funny movie. If you don't care at all about Will Smith not fitting the role and era or don't care about the steampunk stuff getting way out of hand you should be able to get a kick out of this movie.

Why does everyone hate this movie so much? Not that my two cents matters any, but I think this is an action/comedy/Western that surpasses films like Star Wars and Count Of Monte Cristo in swashbuckling entertainment value. Will Smith plays Jim West, a gunslinging, black-cowboy-hat-wearing action hero. Kevin Kline plays Artemus Gordon, the inventor and government agent who teams up with Smith's character to stop a madman bent on destroying the United States! Packed with explosive action, comedy, and great special effects, Wild Wild West is a fun, entertaining popcorn movie that you will love!

Without wanting to insult anyone,I really don't get why this movie is rated so bad.I found it brilliant!The humour was great,the plot was very intersting too,and the special effects were state-of-the-art if you consider that this is a 90's fim.I also found this movie epic,having a friendly relationship growing between two guys that in the beggining hate each other,each of them being the star of the film on his own way.

Judging by the tone of some of these pompous reviews, one would think this flick was being offered as the latest adaptation of one of Bill Shakespeare's works. Geez, c'mon people. It's just what it appeared to be: A bit of summer fluff with buddies, sight-gags, wisecracks and a little cleavage. It wasn't meant to be "true" to the original series. I used to watch WWW religiously as a kid during the Spy Craze of the '60's but, really, would it translate well to today's jaded audiences? Boooorring. No, it was made to appeal to a wide demographic with just enough of the original stuff to tweak the memories of us older geezers and a hip quality thrown in to hook the younger folks. The jokes could have been a little more clever but Smith and Klein delivered adequate performances and Kenneth Branagh's over-the-top interpretation of Loveless was a scream and helped carry the weight. I can't believe people are actually picking apart the possibility of such technology as the Tarantula existing in the late nineteenth century or whether a black man would have the carte blanche that Smith's Jim West had during that time. It was an action-fantasy-comedy for chissake! Helloooo?! Anyway, I found it somewhat disappointing the first time I saw it but I've watched it a couple of times since then and it kind of grows on you. Not a movie I could watch over and over again like Star Wars or The Matrix but the DVD doesn't sink to coffeetable coaster status either. I'd call it moderately amusing and if you're a Smith, Klein or Branagh fan, definitely worth adding to your collection despite what the Rex reed wannabes say.

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.

I'm pretty leery of remakes, especially remakes of films or TV shows that were pretty good the first time around. The television series that serves--barely--as the model for this overbudgeted, underdeveloped redux was one of the best fantasy concepts ever (007 meets "Bonanza"), a showcase for the dynamite team of supercool Robert Conrad and charming Ross Martin. Director Barry Sonnenfeld just doesn't seem to get it. His first mistake was casting one-trick-pony Will Smith in the Conrad role; reimagining James West as a "person of color" was a great idea (Conrad himself had suggested Jackie Chan), but Smith's lackluster presence and incessant mugging for the camera grow tiresome, as usual, after five minutes. Kevin Kline as master-of-disguise Artemus Gordon is more inspired but instead of letting him be a member of an elite team, the script makes him West's cranky rival for too long in the film. It's like watching Archie and Reggie in cowboy hats but without the action and suspense. While his Dr. Loveless lacks the winning combination of pathos and villainy that Michael Dunn brought to the TV role, Kenneth Brannagh, at least, seems to be having fun as the requisite egomaniacal genius. The plot is, by and large, a mess--something about gunrunning, Ulysses S. Grant, and giant, steam-powered spiders; somehow, in two hours, Sonnenfeld manages to convey a story with less flair, delight, and imagination than a single hour of the TV series. Cold and flat computer-generated effects are no match for the simpler but more atmospheric production values of the series and like most recent remakes, the production crew seems to have a shallow understanding of the source material. Even Elmer Bernstein's score is a hollow approximation of the TV series' excellent theme music.

Paint a mustache on the Mona Lisa! It's a shame and sad that this movie was made cause it will never have the opportunity to be made right. The TV James West was the perfect wild west secret agent with the gadgets and brawls. Robert Conrad created a wonderful character only to be mocked in this vomitus, stick to the bottom of your shoe movie. Save your money on this and buy some of the real TV episodes. Find "The Night of the Falcon" with Robert Duvall as the foil to James West - perfect example of how this should have been made.

Just Vin

This is one of those movies that make you laugh and have a good time, of course the plot it's bad, and the situations in the movie are absurd. But you can have a good time with the clowninngs that Will Smith and Kivin Cline make. And Kenneth Brannagh looks impressive with just half body.

Wild Wild West is one of those movies that make you wonder just what were they thinking when this movie was being made. One thing that is absolutely essential for enjoying a movie is the suspension of disbelief. That is, you have to be able to believe that what's on the screen could really happen the way that things on the screen are happening. The things that go on in this movie make that impossible. Example: there is a gigantic steam-powered spider. Even with today's advanced technology, such a contraption would be just about impossible to build and get to operate properly, let alone in 1869.

Once again: What were they thinking?

I can remember seeing Wild Wild West opening weekend back in the summe of 1997. I was so excited to see it after hearing the theme song and knowing my boy Will Smith was going to be in it. I thought the moive was kind of stupid, but I really enjoy this moive.

James West(Smith) is one of the top U.S. Secret Service Agents. President Grant is worried about a man Dr. Arliss Loveless(Branagh). He has been kidnapping different scientists who are the tops of their respective fields. West is teamed with one of the top U.S. marshalls Artemus Gordon(Kline). The two are hot on the trail and find a beautiful woman named Rita(Hayek) who is after Loveless as well because he kidnapped her father. Now are two agents must stop Loveless in time, before he can release his horrible creations upon the U.S.

Will Smith wasn't really the right choice for James West. The complaint is legit that a black man shouldn't have been this big agent right after slaverly had just ended. It's ridiculous saying segregation took place up to the sixties. However, if you look past that flaw, then Smith really works. He is Will Smith and he has that Will Smith charm. He's a good action star and he excels in the action parts of the movie.

Kevin Kline is also really good in the movie. I never watched the tv show, so I don't know how these two compare. Kline is good in the role and he runs with it. He's funny as the crafty inventor and he's just Kevin Kline.

Salma Hayek is gorgeous in the moive. The was the first one I ever saw her in and she had me from the first time I saw her. Her acting isn't all that great in the movie, she's just there to simply look at for an hour and half, and it works.

The special effects are really good in the film. Once again I wouldn't expect anything less from a moive with Will Smith in it. They aren't the best ones from his movies that he's been in, but they are good. The tarantula looked kind of cool and there is plenty of stuff blowing up in it.

This was a summer blockbuser movie. The acting is terrible and so is the plot, but it's fun. The acting is fun, the special effects are great and it's a nice escape for two hours. This movie is easy to find cheap so pick it up for a cheap good time.

I was a fan of the old TV series 'Wild, Wild West' - full of action, adventure, pretty women, weird plots and advanced super-weapons - what more could you want? How about Will Smith and Kevin Kline as James West and Artemus Gordon? How about Salma Hayek in a corset? How about Kenneth Branagh with 20th century weapons? Tanks, trains and airplanes!
This film is LOTS of fun and full of humor. For example, near the end of the film, The giant spider even blows up half the town of Silverado, which in fact is the set made for the movie "Silverado". So they saved money AND recycled.
The DVD has lots of extras, from the commentary by the director, to behind-the-scenes documentaries, to the music videos!

Best:

1) The villian is riotously played by Kenneth Branagh using an over-the-top southern accent. He wants to undo the south's surrender in the U.S. Civil War by taking over all of America and dissolving the union. The way he chooses to do it is simply outrageous.
2) The 80 foot, coal-powered mechanical tarantula was downright cool to watch and the sound effects made it seem real.
3) There's a large array of James Bond type gizmos used all throughout the movie (by the good and bad guys alike) that are extremely imaginative.
4) Parts of the film were absolutely hilarious (like the guy with the horn stuck in his ear) and the humor blended well with the action.
5) You get to see the butts of both Salma Hayek and Bai Ling (ha).
6) There's a ton of special features - everything you could want.

Worst:

1) As much as I like Will Smith, the choice of him for the lead role of was just - weird. A slick-dressing, gun-slinging, smug-acting black man walking around freely so soon after the ending of slavery was pretty unlikely in that time period (but then, so is an 80 foot mechanical tarantula, I suppose). He did, however, create that really catchy theme song - hmm.

Recommendation:

The movie is delightful, the DVD is loaded with special features and the price is right. Get it and watch without any offbeat expectations - it'll grow on you.

This movie was hyped up so much that it just had to fail. The script was predictable, and even the acting was bad from every actor. I hate that wasted money on this movie. Guess it just shows you to: DON"T BELIEVE THE HYPE!

So I was perusing the reviews for this movie before getting a copy and I must say that in regards to this movie, people came to the table with far too high expectations for this movie and had them in completely different areas in which this movie really shone. The particularly vitriolic reviewers here should have known beforehand that a vehicle piloted by Will Smith with Kevin Kline riding shotgun would *not* be the next "Citizen Kane." I knew this the first time I saw the commericals for this movie, but went to see it anyway. I'm proud to be one of the thirty five people in America to have paid $7.50 for this movie and plan to shell out about twenty more for the DVD. It was not a waste to me. I do not regret seeing this movie at all in theaters. "T3" and "Matrix: Reloaded" however....

I suppose my particular attraction to Wild Wild West was summed up quite well by a former reviewer who described it as "enjoyable" but not "good." You must have this attitude to enjoy this movie, otherwise you cringe at what should elicit a throaty chuckle. Of course the movie is miscast, even though Branaugh's and Kline's performances taken at face value are enjoyable. Of course there couldn't be "big metal spiders", etc. back then. This still doesn't keep this movie from being a fun, campy joyride that will probably engender a cult following in years to come. Wild Wild West is the Plan 9 of the 90's.

My recommendation: watch it on TV first. Yes, they still show it. They also show the TV movies made from the original TV show. Believe me, they aren't much better, despite what the WWW purists may say. If you like the free experience, then by all means get the DVD. But the Wild Wild West experience is not for the casual buyer.

Where did "Wild Wild West" go so wrong? It teams "Men in Black" director Barry Sonnenfield with Will Smith, Kenneth Branagh and Salma Hayek, and the only question afterwards is: Were any of them fully awake when they signed on to this royal stinkbomb?

Someone is kidnapping top scientists, and two US marshals are being sent to find out who and stop them from ... well, doing whatever it is he's kidnapping the scientists for. Capt. James 'Jim' West (Will Smith) and Artemus 'Artie' Gordon (Kevin Kline) soon find out who it is -- the evil Dr. Dr. Arliss Loveless (Kenneth Branagh), a freaky genius with no legs. (Seriously, he has no legs) His intention: Take over the USA.

Are our heroes going to stop him? You betcha. Especially when they learn that President Grant (also played by Kline) is a target for assassination, because Loveless wants to restart the Civil War. (Yeah, whatever) So West and Gordon accompany the beautiful Rita Escobar (Salma Hayek) to Utah, where they hope to stop Loveless once and for all.

Like "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen," "Wild Wild West" has lots of high-glitz anachronisms. The big difference is that LXG's anachronisms actually made a tiny amount of sense. "West"'s anachronisms just seem like cheap draws to draw in the action fans -- the big droopy metal spider being among them, and the extremely intricate train (complete with whirling pool table). Unfortunately, that sort of stuff is only fun the first time.

When Sonnenfield is good, he's very very good. Here, he is not good. The level of stupid jokes and idiotic slapstick is mind-boggling, and the few attempts at character development (like West talking about his past) fall flat on their faces. Not to mention the scantily clad women, who crop up constantly wearing little more than dominatrix-lite lingerie.

Smith and Kline seem to be giving it their darndest, but they're up Bad Script And Chemistry Creek without a paddle; they really don't seem to know what they're doing. Kenneth Branagh is apparently supposed to be joyously hamming it, but he seems more like he's giddy after a few whiffs of pot. Salma Hayek is reduced to walking around in pajamas that display her butt. She really has nothing more to do.

"Wild Wild West" is one of the movies you look back on and wince about. It wasted the director, the lead actors, and the audience's money. Only suitable for "Lousy Movie Nights," so you and your friends can sit and mock it.

i hated this movie. no more to say.

I've always felt that there are certain television shows which could never translate well to the big screen. However, the "Wild Wild West" was one of the few shows I thought would be perfect for a major motion picture.

The concept was solid... two Secret Service men from the old west, battling plots against the president of the United States. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that this concept could have resulted in a popular movie franchise which could have rivaled the James Bond and Jack Ryan films.

However, someone REALLY dropped the ball here. I may be one of the few people who isn't bothered by a movie not being completely true to its television or book predecesor, but this... This is just ridiculous. A perfectly good concept was completely destroyed when the creators of this movie decided to write it as a Comedy/Rap Musical. Really... what were they thinking? Granted, Will Smith was a hot commodity at the time, but it takes more than big stars to make a quality film.

First of all, you need to cast the film correctly. I have no problem with Smith as a talent, but he's no "James West". Someone like Matthew McConaughey would have been a perfect fit here.

Second... cut the Comedy. This isn't "Blazing Saddles"!!! The Wild Wild West was not a Comedy! It was an Action show. Sure, you can have a few comedic moments, but if you're going to use the show as a basis for you movie, you atleast have to use some of the elements that made it a successful show in the first place.

Third... spend a little time on the script. Rather than spending all your money on the cast and special effects, how about investing in some good writing. Give the audience a reason to care about the film!

I hope some day, some movie producer is brave enough to revitalize the "Wild Wild West" show into a quality film. I fear, however, that the damage has been done.

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.