Product Details

• Actors: Will Smith, Kevin Kline, Kenneth Branagh, Salma Hayek, M. Emmet Walsh
• Directors: Barry Sonnenfeld
• Writers: Brent Maddock, Jeffrey Price, Jim Thomas, John Thomas, Peter S. Seaman
• Producers: Barry Josephson
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Special Edition, NTSC
• Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Warner Home Video
• VHS Release Date: November 30, 1999
• Run Time: 106 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (223 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00001ZWTS
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #243,402 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

One of the box-office smashes of the summer of 1999, this film by director Barry Sonnenfeld (Men in Black, Get Shorty) was raked by critics but embraced by audiences. Based on the 1960s TV adventure show that starred Robert Conrad, this film reimagined Secret Service agent James West as Will Smith, adding Oscar-winner Kevin Kline as his sidekick, agent-inventor Artemus Gordon. President Ulysses S. Grant puts West and Gordon on the trail of malign genius (and former Confederate soldier) Dr. Arliss Loveless (Kenneth Branagh) in a story about racism, partnership, and world domination. The special effects are lavish, even garish, but not all that special; they're not enough to elevate a mundane and familiar plot. Even Branagh, playing a man who only exists from the waist up--literally--can't find the juice in this lumbering affair. Still, the fast-talking team of Smith and Kline is a nimble one. Smith's affable charm and Kline's subversive wit win many points, though not nearly enough. --Marshall Fine

From The New Yorker

Gizmos, Gatlings, and wrought-iron whatnots. This piece of overproduced maniacal whimsy is set in the Grant Administration and features a Jules Verne system of design, heavy on gadgetry and industrial fantasy. The devices are intriguing, but they flash by without having much effect. The story has something to do with a legless madman (Kenneth Branagh) who wants to destroy the United States and the two federal agents (Will Smith and Kevin Kline) who try to stop him. The movie is exhausting, utterly without feeling, and pointless-though Smith looks great in his Western outfit. Written by six persons who cannot tell a story. Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld. Cinematography by Michael Ballhaus. -David Denby
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

65 of 79 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Wild Wild Disappointment, November 16, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Wild Wild West (DVD)

I was really excited about seeing this one. Will Smith never fails to give a blockbuster, Kevin Kline is witty and Kenneth Branaugh is one of my favorite actors. Even Salma Hayek proved herself in "Hunchback of Notre Dame" (NOT THE DISNEY VERSION - this one is the beautiful, yet depressing one made for cable). However, West really didn't know where to go - it's beginning was the worst part. I couldn't understand a thing at all. Then the movie lifted up, but not enough to make it excellent. The biggest letdown was Will Smith. Gone is the Fresh Prince we once knew. Smith is toally dead in his performance; he is not funny at all and spends his time talking about women's breasts and butts. It got really tired after a while. Kevin Kline turned in a good show, but not enough to save the picture. Kenneth Branaugh was reduced to a small pathetic "villian" character. And Salma? What the hell was she doing in this movie. MAJOR LETDOWN, but still not so bad. It has its moments, so give it a try but don't buy it. It's not really worth it.

20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Who's West Was It?, December 2, 2004

By 

Lonnie E. Holder "The Review's the Thing" (Columbus, Indiana, United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wild Wild West (DVD)

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.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars the way not to do a movie about a t.v. show, February 16, 2006

By 

movie hound john - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wild Wild West (DVD)

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.