The director of Men in Black, its leading actor, a legendary cameraman and a popular TV series as a basis: Wild Wild West had the ingredients for (at least) a solid pastime in the summer of 1999. Instead, the audience saw one of the biggest financial failures of the decadeequipped with bizarre ideas that still surprise, disturb and entertain today.
The western adventure with Will Smith mixes cowboys and science fiction
Wild Wild West was based on a TV series from the 1960s in which two Secret Service agents take action against villains on behalf of President Ulysses S. Grant. The film departed from the classic Western pattern and played with steampunk elements, i.e. futuristic technology in a 19th century guise. In this respect, Barry Sonnenfeld’s film is very close to the original. Will Smith and Kevin Kline take on the roles in the film, while Kenneth Branagh twirls his moustache as the villain.
However, between the series and the film there is a budget of 170 million dollars, six (!) authors and a Producer with a proven fixation on giant spiders. You notice this every minute of the wild ride through the West.
Wild Wild West is totally ridiculous and yet remarkable
The crazy inventions of Kevin Kline’s character are reduced to absurdity in comparison to the series, and the same goes for the humor, which is clown-like and stupid and begs for laughter. Kline and Smith’s chemistry was criticized then and now, but basically everyone involved is letting off steam in their own little theater.
Warner
Kevin Kline and Will Smith are shot by a flying guillotine
Kevin Kline fidgets around the set, Kenneth Branagh gives in to his megalomaniac tics and occasionally tears the script to pieces, while Will Smith strolls through the Wild West as if he were on the set of Independence Day 2. Camera legend Michael Ballhaus, Barry Sonnenfeld and their team stage the whole thing like the Western adaptation of The Wizard of Ozover-the-top to the last millimeter of footage, and remarkable for that. It’s hard to believe that anyone approved this collection of bad, sometimes annoying, and quite entertaining ideas.
If you take inflation into account, this film would cost over $300 million today, and one of the reasons for this is the villain’s robotic spider. Producer Jon Peters is said to have wanted to include a giant spider in a Superman film and a Sandman adaptation. In Wild Wild West, he was able to make his dream come true – and put the cherry on top.
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How to watch Wild Wild West on TV or stream
The film was a flop in the cinema. If you want to watch it 25 years later, you can watch Wild Wild West today. Saturday, August 3rd from 10pm on RTL 2 The repeat will be broadcast on Sunday night from 3:25 a.m.
Those who miss the western don’t have to miss out on the unique film experience. The sci-fi western is available to stream with Sky/WOW or Amazon Prime Video subscriptions.