Cast: Will Smith, Kevin Kline, Kenneth Branagh, Salma Hayek, M. Emmet Walsh, Ted Levine
Director: Barry Sonnenfeld
Producers: Jon Peters, Barry Sonnenfeld
Screenplay: Brent Maddock, Jeffrey Price, Peter S. Seaman, S.S. Wilson
Cinematography: Michael Ballhaus
Music: Elmer Bernstein
U.S. Distributor: Warner Brothers
The Beverly Hillbillies. The Flintstones. The Mod Squad. McHale's Navy. The Avengers. These are just a few of the perennial TV favorites that Hollywood has turned into big-screen abominations. The list grows longer every year, as the number of TV-to-movie adaptations expands. The latest example of a popular weekly program to be zombified by the film industry is The Wild Wild West, a '60s show that mixed Western motifs with James Bond gadgetry. The Wild Wild West ran for five years between 1965 and 1969, spanning 104 episodes. When it was cancelled at the end of the 1969 season, it was not because of poor ratings, but because of network attempts to reduce the amount of violence on the tube. The adventures of Secret Service agents James West (originally played by Robert Conrad) and Artemus Gordon (the late Ross Martin) were popular enough with audiences to warrant two (hideous) made-for-TV movie sequels: The Wild Wild West Revisited (1979) and More Wild Wild West (1980). Martin's death in 1981 precluded further adventures.
During its syndication heyday in the '70s and early '80s, The Wild Wild West could be found in almost every U.S. city at some time during the day. It was a non-network staple, often eating up an hour in an early evening or post prime time slot. The reason for its popularity is not hard to understand: it featured two likable heroes, a lighthearted tone that never quite strayed into the realm of camp, and guaranteed at least five or six action sequences per show. These days, however, The Wild Wild West is hard to find on TV. Perhaps the release of the movie will change that, and the program will find a new generation of fans. Those who have seen both incarnations will shake their heads with bewilderment at how a seemingly sure-fire prospect like The Wild Wild West could be turned into such a stillborn motion picture.
Hollywood needs to remember that, while a movie is not a sum of its parts, those parts have to work individually for the production as a whole to have a chance. With the exception of Kevin Kline, who has a double role as Artemus Gordon and President Grant, very little in Wild Wild West (note that the "the" has been dropped) is successful. Popular actor and all-around nice guy Will Smith is horribly miscast as Jim West. Kenneth Branagh, the talented British actor/director who is taking a break between Shakespeare adaptations (his last one, Hamlet, came out in 1997; his next, Love's Labors Lost, is due out later this year), presents villain Arliss Lovelace as a deliciously over-the-top and legless version of Snidely Whiplash with an accent that makes Strom Thurmond sound like a Yankee. Salma Hayek is wasted in the thankless supporting role of The Love Interest. The easy camaraderie that characterized the West/Gordon partnership in the TV series is completely absent. The preposterous plot never bothers to make sense in its quest to take the movie into the realm of science fiction by using big-time special effects. The humor is only occasionally funny and the action sequences seem tired. Finally, the music, which sounds like a half-baked retread of The Magnificent Seven (not surprising, since the composer, Elmer Bernstein, authored both scores), incorporates the TV show's signature tune only once (and then for all of 15 seconds).
The story introduces us to James West and Artemus Gordon, two mismatched, post-Civil War era Secret Service agents who are reluctantly partnered to stop an assassination attempt against President Grant. Gordon, a master of disguises, prefers sneaky tactics to physical violence, and always has a new gadget up his sleeve (think of him as Wild Wild West's version of 007's Q). West, on the other hand, has a tendency to "shoot first, shoot later, shoot some more, and, when everyone's dead, try to ask a question or two." The threat to Grant comes from Arliss Lovelace, a southern gentleman who lost both legs during the war and holds a serious grudge. He has kidnapped the United States' top scientists and forced them to build an arsenal of deadly weapons, including a prototype of the tank and an 80 foot mechanical tarantula that spits fireballs and bears a striking resemblance to the Imperial Walkers from The Empire Strikes Back.
Director Barry Sonnenfeld (Men in Black) takes a detour down a blind alley early in the film when he lumbers his audience with a dull saloon brawl, and never recovers. The movie lacks energy and the characters display little charisma. And, despite possessing many of the same superficial elements as the television series, the motion picture misses its predecessor's tone and appeal. As silly as it often was, the TV Wild Wild West was fun; the big screen version is plodding. At 105 minutes, it falls short of being an ordeal, but the experience is hollow. Fans of the series will likely leave the theater deflated; newcomers will wonder why they bothered.
One question that begs answering is why Robert Conrad doesn't have even a cameo. The 65-year old actor is still hale and healthy, and it's hard to believe he would turn down the chance for a quick guest shot in a major movie. And, while Conrad's presence wouldn't have saved Wild Wild West, it would at least have added a point of interest. But he's nowhere to be found. The 1994 comedy/western Maverick had the good sense to add the original TV star, James Garner, to the cast, and was stronger for it (Maverick is in every way a superior motion picture to Wild Wild West). Conrad's exclusion, for whatever reason, leaves a hole in the heart of this film.
To be fair to the movie, it is more watchable than The Avengers. Sonnenfeld is fond of small, visual gags and inside jokes. The harder you look, the more you'll see. A few of the obvious ones include a reference to RCA Victor, a crib from E.T., and a nod to Kevin Kline's favorite director, Lawrence Kasdan (look for his name on the side of a building). The set design, which has a Jules Verne feel (futuristic devices in the 1800s), is superlative, and the special effects, while arguably out-of-place, are consistently impressive. If only the film played as well as it looks...
It is probably politically incorrect to comment negatively about Will Smith's performance, but I'm going to do it anyway. The problem isn't that Smith is black (although his skin color introduces a dark, underdeveloped subplot that feels out of place in a comedy/adventure film), but that he's all wrong for the part. He's flat and unconvincing in the fight scenes, and stresses the character's comic attributes over the action ones, turning West into a bland caricature who bumbles his way through altercations and occasionally comes up with an amusing one-liner. Those looking for West to be the dashing, charismatic hero of the TV series will find his prowess considerably diminished.
Someone sitting near me during the screening suggested that if the producers had changed the characters' names, Wild Wild West would have been a better movie. However, such a theory is based on a fallacious hypothesis: Wild Wild West isn't just a bad adaptation of a TV series; it's a bad film. Even those in search of light summer fare are likely to be unimpressed. One wonders why Warner Brothers chose to release the movie during the height of the June/July box office sweepstakes, instead of waiting until August, when most big budget disappointments bow. Against stiff competition, Wild Wild West may have trouble staying afloat. Regardless, while its television counterpart will continue to live on in syndication, this version is headed for Boot Hill.
© 1999 James Berardinelli