Warner Bros.
Will Smith seems to be back on top of the world , where he rightfully deserves to be . His previous effort , Bad Boys : Ride or Die , encounter good reviews and has grossed almost$300 million worldwide , and his repute seems to have successfully endure the event of 2022 . Is it a surprise that Smith endured ? He ’s survived far worse ; after all , 2022 was n’t the first time many doubt his career could recover . In 1999 , Smith went through another difficult period , not because of a slap but because of a movie so infamous that it most jump his hard - earned fame completely . The movie was , of trend , Wild Wild West .
Directed by Smith ’s usual collaborator , Barry Sonnenfeld , and ( very ) broadly based on the sixties TV seriesThe Wild Wild West , the picture show star Smith as Jim West , a U.S. Secret Service agent who join personnel with another agent , odd inventor Artemus Gordon ( Kevin Kline ) , to protect the nation from the evil Dr. Arliss Loveless ( Kenneth Branagh ) .
Warner Bros.
A alone take on the steampunk writing style , Wild Wild Westis true to its name : it ’s wild , ludicrously dull , bloated , pontifical , sexist , perplexing , and an undeniable good meter . Indeed , Wild Wild Westis far better than you remember . Now , do n’t get me incorrect , it ’s not a “ good ” movie , at least not purely speaking . But who allege a bad moving picture can have genuine amusement note value ?
Steampunk heaven
If you , like me , are a fan ofthe steampunk subgenre , thenWild Wild Westis the perfect movie for you . Steampunk incorporate the esthetics of Greco-Roman 19th - one C options , mainly Victorian England and the Old American West , and merge them with retro - futurist technology base on steam - power machinery . The result is a alone subgenre that merit far more aid from the mainstream .
A few movies have undertake to contain steampunk sensibilities — the most successful are normally within the recreate spiritualist . moving picture like Studio Ghibli’sCastle in the Sky , Disney’sTreasure Planet , and Focus’9are worthy yet severely undervalued efforts that do the steampunk sensitiveness justice . However , none of them were able to becharm audiences ’ involvement — in fact , they are considered flops , particularly compared to their studio apartment ’s more successful effort . Thus , this fascinating and distinctive subgenre has been unfairly relegated to the background signal .
Indeed , steampunk is so underappreciated by the mainstream thatWild Wild Westarguably remains the best - known illustration in modern movie house . Yet , as pitiful as that fact is , at leastWild Wild Westis a remarkable model of it . The picture might fail as an action - adventure comedy , but as an exercise of steampunk , it passes with flying colors . From Gordon ’s many contraptions — fly machines , mechanically skillful monocycle , odd power train , and the like — to the objet d’art de resistance , Loveless ’ giant mechanical spider , arguably the cinema ’s most significant contribution , Wild Wild Westis a steampunk fan ’s aspiration .
The picture cover its unique technology with a mix of admiration and absurdism , a ego - cognisant approach it should ’ve utilise to the narrative , too . For all its flaws , Wild Wild Westlooks incredible : the product excogitation is detailed , and the ocular force singular , creating a fascinating delineation of the American West unlike anything we ’ve see before or since . The world feel lived - in , enthralling without ever becoming inviting .
More importantly , steampunk is life-sustaining toWild Wild West ; whereas cinema likethe extravagantPoor Thingsor Disney ’s underrated gemAtlantis : The Lost Empiremerely consumption steampunk as a visual cock , Wild Wild Westcelebrates and recognizes its tremendous entreaty , both visual and story . It is the very embodiment of steampunk , showing a loyalty to it that we seldom see in mainstream cinema .
‘Heaven knows we haven’t lost our sense of humor.’
Beyond its gift to the steampunk subgenre , Wild Wild Westshould be commended for its valorously committed performance . God knows the movie is lacking on several spirit level , but at least the actors are let fun . Will Smith is his usual witching self , Kevin Kline is a delightful if somewhat grating oddball , and Salma Hayek brings admirable dignity to a role that , like many of her early movie , call for nothing from her but to be beautiful and well impressed .
Yet , the undeniable star of this ill-conceived romp is none other than Oscar succeeder Kenneth Branagh . Now , a film fructify in the American West about a moonstruck , antiblack applied scientist launch a crusade against President Ulysses S. Grant would be the last place one might expect to find movie theater ’s greatest Shakespeare exponent of the late ’ 80s and early ’ 90 . Yet , here Branagh is , using an exaggerated accent he surely picked from some recreational community house maneuver in Topeka , Kansas , with a beard that Wes Bentley plagiarize for his Seneca Crane and a steam - powered wheelchair because he , by nature , is missing one lung , a spleen , a bladder , two legs , 35 foot of modest bowel , and his ability to reproduce , all in the name of the South .
And Branagh kills it . He ’s out there , delivering line like “ I like to beat my feet on the Mississippi mud ! ” while elevated by four mechanical spider - like leg with all the conviction of a stage thespian recitingMacbeth . Branagh is living for every minute of this pontifical mess , and his excitement is contagious . That ’s whatWild Wild Westhas going for it . In other spoilt movies , you may tell an actor is there for the paycheck , whether it ’s Harrison Ford fluff through lines about “ the Force ” or Michael Caine looking half - tire , half - embarrassed throughoutJaws : The Revenge . But everyone inWild Wild Westlooks amuse by the ridiculousness , and the movie is strong for it .
We need movies likeWild Wild Westfor the same reason wind jokes are rummy ; sometimes , it ’s courteous to chuckle at something stupid . The photographic film is a funny one ; it knows it ’s dumb , and while it does n’t adopt it , it ’s also not mortified by it . Wild Wild Westis the good variety of dazed : garish and shameless without becoming rude or annoying . It ’s a two - hr put-on without a punchline , but the delivery is so awkward and comical that you ca n’t help but express joy , be it at it or with it . If you like steampunk , sit back and enjoy the production because it does n’t get any better , I fear . If you just desire to pass the time , then do that and peradventure laugh once or doubly , intentionally or otherwise .
Wild Wild Westis available torent or leverage on Amazonand other digital vendors .
