Wild Wild West (widescreen version)

Action, Adventure, Comedy, Western

Will Smith	James T. West
Kevin Kline	Artemus Gordon / President Grant
Kenneth Branagh	Dr. Arliss Loveless
Salma Hayek	Rita Escobar
Ted Levine	Gen. McGrath
M. Emmet Walsh	Coleman
Bai Ling	Miss East, Dr. Loveless' Personal Assistant
Rodney Grant	Hudson
Garcelle Beauvais	Girl In Water Tower
Musetta Vander	Munitia

Director

Barry Sonnenfeld

Wild Wild West, directed by Barry Sonnenfeld (Men in Black, Get Shorty), was one of the box-office smashes of the summer of 1999 but was raked by critics and embraced by audiences. Based on the 1960s TV adventure show that starred Robert Conrad, this film re-imagined Secret Service agent James West as Will Smith, adding Oscar-winner Kevin Kline as his sidekick, agent-inventor Artemus Gordon. President Ulysses S. Grant puts West and Gordon on the trail of malign genius (and former Confederate soldier) Dr. Arliss Loveless (Kenneth Branagh) in a story about racism, partnership and world domination. The special effects are lavish, even garish, but not all that special; they're not enough to elevate a mundane and familiar plot. Even Branagh, playing a man who only exists from the waist up--literally--can't find the juice in this lumbering affair. Still, the fast-talking team of Smith and Kline is a nimble one. Smith's affable charm and Kline's subversive wit win many points, though not nearly enough.--Marshall Fine