Film Talk: Looking Back – Rough riding with Wild Wild West

Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, 1999’s Wild Wild West dropped the comic talent of Kevin Kline and the hot leading man property of Will Smith into an alternative Old West, where the age of steam was leading to some pretty bizarre leaps of engineering, and some crazy goings on indeed.

An entertaining and enjoyable yarn, it was loosely adapted from The Wild Wild West, a 60s TV series created by Michael Garrison. It’s fair to say this film got its fair share of stick after its release, far from being beloved by critics and not doing brilliantly at the box office. But over two decades on from its release, it’s weathered pretty well, and it’s a great bit of fun.

Starring Smith and Kline as a pair of mismatched US Secret Service agents out to thwart an insane southern scientist (a superb Kenneth Branagh), Wild Wild West is a buddy cop flick with a twist that may not be the most cerebral film ever made, but goes down very well with a bucket of popcorn.

With a supporting cast including Salma Hayek, Ted Levine and M. Emmet Walsh, this movie is an uncomplicated 106 minutes of easy entertainment – and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that...

Out in the west, a famous scientist is found dead, decapitated by an extraordinary device of advanced engineering. Quickly on the case is US Marshall Artemus Gordon (Kline) – something of an inventor himself, with a curiosity about the man’s demise.

He won’t be alone in his investigation however, as he is quickly teamed up with Captain Jim West, a man who shoots from the hip and only relies on his gun.

Their trail quickly leads them to General ‘Bloodbath’ McGrath (Levine) – the man also responsible for killing West’s parents, though a higher hand than his is soon revealed to be pulling the strings.

With McGrath revealed as nothing more than a puppet of deranged ex-confederate scientist Dr Arliss Loveless (Branagh), the two heroes realise that one dead scientist is just the beginning.

With the help of the beautiful Rita (Hayek), West and Gordon must race against time to stop Loveless in his plot to destroy President Ulysses S Grant (also played by Kline), and use his terrible inventions to change the shape of the United States forever...

Produced on a budget of $170 million, Wild Wild West was a commercial disappointment, grossing only $113.8 million domestically and $108.3 million overseas for a worldwide total of $222.1 million.

It may not have been much of a money maker, or even been to most reviewers’ tastes, but to me it will always represent what is sometimes the only thing a good film needs to be – a bit of a light break from reality.

While it has been criticised on many levels, Wild Wild West did also feature a truly brilliant turn from Brannagh as the dastardly Loveless, and showcased Kevin Kline at his eccentric best.

Will Smith did a great job as the no-nonsense gunslinger to Kline’s neurotic inventor, and Hayek was a fun romantic battleground for the two. It won’t break your world apart, but Wild West West might just give you the uncomplicated on-screen fun you were looking for, and for this it deserves a big thumbs-up.