Wild Wild West (UK)

6 / 10
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It`s a whole new west. July `99
Certificate: 12
Running Time: 102 mins
Retail Price: £19.99
Release Date:

Synopsis:
If you think special government agent James West is fast with a six-shooter, wait until he lays a quip on you!

Megahit star Will Smith plays West, reuniting with Men In Black director Barry Sonnenfeld in an effects-loaded, shoot-from-the lip spectacular. Kevin Kline plays fellow agent and crackerjack inventor Artemus Gordon, teamed with West on a daring assignment: stop legless Dr Arliss Loveless (Kenneth Branagh) and his diabolical plot for a Disunited Stated of America. Salma Hayek is mysterious adventuress Rita Escobar.

And all manner of geared-up 1860s gadgets -from belt-buckle derringers to surprise-packed billiard balls, to a walking, eight-storey, steam-and-steel tarantula - help make Wild Wild West a Wow Wow West!

Special Features:
Interactive Menus
Scene Access
Behind-The Scenes Documentaries
Will Smith and Enrique Iglesias Music Videos
Stills Gallery
Theatrical Trailer
For DVD-ROM Only: Behind-The Scenes Clips
Two Genre Essays
The Steel Assassin Interactive Game
Web Events and Chat Room Access
Original Theatrical Web Site

Video Tracks:
Widescreen Letterbox 1.85:1

Audio Tracks:
Dolby Digital 5.1 English

Subtitle Tracks:
Romanian
English
CC: English
Arabic
Bulgarian

Directed By:
Barry Sonnenfeld

Written By:






Starring:
M. Emmet Walsh
Salma Hayek
Kenneth Branagh
Kevin Kline
Will Smith

Casting By:
David Rubin
Ronna Kress

Soundtrack By:
Elmer Bernstein

Director of Photography:
Stefan Czapsky
Michael Ballhaus

Editor:
Jim Miller

Costume Designer:
Deborah Lynn Scott

Producer:
Neri Kyle Tannenbaum
Barry Sonnenfeld
Chris Soldo
Graham Place
Jon Peters
Doug Lodato

Executive Producer:
Bill Todman Jr.
Joel Simon
Kim LeMasters
Barry Josephson
Tracy Glaser

Distributor:
Warner Bros

Your Opinions and Comments

5 / 10
This picture got a critical mauling in the States that it never recovered from. It`s just too politically incorrect for the stomachs of those guardians of public aesthetics. The script is littered with racist and disablist(?) slurs and jokes. They`re there for a reason - you have to dislike Kenneth Branagh`s wheelchair-bound villain Dr Loveless and see that Will Smith`s hero Jim West gives as good as he gets. Unfortunately, the gags only have the effect of making you cringe.

Dr Loveless is aided and abetted by a trio of gorgeous ladies who are woefully under-used to devote more screen time to Kevin Kline`s hammy performance as Artemus Gordon, master of disguise.

The one breath of fresh ass (see the movie to get that) is Salma Hayek as the damsel in distress. Like the Loveless Ladies, she too is underused and sidelined.

Compared with Director Barry Levinson and Will Smith`s last collaboration, Men In Black, this picture is a disaster.

However (you knew there had to be one) WWW - at the time it was released - could claim to be one of the trend-setters in DVD extras. It compared favourably to The Mummy for the quality and numbers of extras - Making of video, music videos, short interviews, stills gallery and DVDRom content to name a few.

If you want a really dodgy movie to watch over a curry with your mates, try and pick this up discounted somewhere. It`s not worth the list price otherwise.
posted by Mark Oates on 22/10/2000 08:52