Wild Wild West (1999)

Firstly I have absolutely no attachment to any of the previous Wild Wild West TV series or comics or anything that came before the film. So I can only go on what was put on screen by director Barry Sonnefeld with Will Smith as James West, Kevin Kline as Artemus Grant, Salma Hayeck as Rita Escobar and Kenneth Branagh as the evil Dr Arliss Loveless. Now I can accept that a Steam-punk Wild West is perhaps not what the original series was envisioning but I liked what they did. West and Grant have to track down Loveless who is holding the American Government to ransom as he has developed new technology.

The story is very much in to the comedy and a bit of slapstick and there is some chemistry between Smith and Kline and they start in the position of disliking each other and through the progression they come to appreciate each others virtues and they probably still do not like each other. The technology is believable in the context of what the film is aiming for and being able to see this and disconnect the sensible from your brain allows you to still enjoy this film.

Overall I can appreciate the fact that many people do not like this film and from what I have heard especially those people that remember the original and view this as an abomination of what the original series was going for. Overall though I can admit that I enjoyed watching this and would recommend it if you are looking for some light hearted comedy a comfortable 6 out of 10.