AuthorKuato Where to watch:
The backseat of a steam-powered buggy Reaction: WILD WILD WEST, loosely based on a 60’s television show, is a gorgeous dumpster-fire of a movie. Its dazzling mixture of steampunk, classic Westerns and slapstick is eye-catching, but the narrative feels made up on the fly. The casting of Kevin Kline was an odd choice, other than the obvious draw from his A FISH CALLED WANDA fanbase. He wears an array of disguises, cross-dresses and also plays the President in a separate role, which is mighty confusing. Is Kevin just assuming another disguise? Nope. Kline plays Artemus Gordon, foil to the lead, Will Smith’s James West (Jim West, desperado, rough rider, no you don’t want nada). Gordon is constantly tweaking his unfinished, steampunk inventions, including a Da Vinci-esque flying contraption. When Gordon and West use it to fly into the third act, Gordon says “I think I’m going to call it Air Gordon.” That timeless joke is Wild Wild West in a nutshell: a cobbled together hodgepodge of alternate lines. Will Smith was hot off one of the biggest blockbuster streaks of all time: BAD BOYS, INDEPENDENCE DAY, MEN IN BLACK, and ENEMY OF THE STATE. That streak ended with this film, which includes an overlong dance sequence with Will Smith dressed as a belly dancer. Kenneth Branagh plays the legless villain, Arliss Loveless, whose primary characterizations are twirling his hipster mustache and monologuing about world domination. Every interaction he has with Jim West, from the introduction to the final fight, is a one-up battle of one-liners about having no legs and Loveless' racist retorts. Lovelace: Well, perhaps the lovely Mrs. East will keep you from bein' a SLAVE to your disappointment. Jim West (Will Smith): Beautiful women…they encourage you one minute, and CUT THE LEGS OUT from under you the next! A movie with such testosterone is complemented by Salma Hayek as Rita Escobar, the witty damsel in distress. Her character is only a few degrees more interesting than one of the villain’s many, corset-wearing henchwomen. Hayek's character primarily serves as an object of desire and competition between the two male leads, evoking a constant tension of ménage-á-trois. The plot: heroes pursue bad guy. Despite a straight-forward plot, many scenes in the middle feel tacked-on. No cinephile will ever remark, “my favorite 20 minute sequence is when West and Gordon talk by the campfire, aimlessly wander through the desert, spot the villain’s giant, mechanical spider to no consequence; then, after Gordon explains he’s been working on a flying machine, an annoyed West says they don’t have time for it.” Usually, I wouldn’t make it through the entirety of a bomb like this, but it drew my attention like a moth to the flaming wreckage of a multiple car pileup. The production value is top-notch, from the set design, to the costumes, to the elaborate, steampunk contraptions. Many shots resemble DJANGO UNCHAINED. It's interesting to imagine what Smith might have looked like in that flick as he was the original choice to play the title role over Jamie Foxx. Conclusion: The highlight of WILD WILD WEST is Will Smith’s undeniably catchy, rap jingle that plays during the credits.
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November 2020
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