The movie is set
in a sort of alternate past. Wild Wild West is a sci-fi western film
that’s fun to watch on TV. During its initial release, though, the movie wasn’t
a commercial success and received average reviews from critics. You could say
its antics and drama were too invested in the plot for the movie to hold up as
a masterpiece. What I mean is, the writers spent more time building the perfect
plot and adding all the sci-fi elements than they did giving us a fun time at
the movies. It was hard to recommend it to a friend to go see in theaters.
Despite its flaws, the movie is fun as a TV movie. Over time, it became one of those films you watch for the same reasons that made it not worth seeing in cinemas back then. Now, when you see it on TV, you can skip the boring bits.
Here’s the plot:
General McGrath is believed to be behind a plot to kill the president and take
over the United States. All of this happens after the events of the Civil War.
Soon, we meet Dr. Arliss Loveless, a man who everyone believes is dead (when I say
“everyone,” the movie believes he’s dead). He’s kept alive by a contraption
that allows him to move around. He’s survived with only the upper half of his
body.
The president
calls on his two best detectives—Jim West (played by Will Smith, a
shoot-first-ask-questions-later kind of guy) and Artemus Gordon (played by
Kevin Kline, a detective who uses disguises and science to get the job done)—to
stop McGrath’s plans.
McGrath, who is believed to be the man behind everything, sends a message to
the president giving him one week to hand over the government.
The movie tries
to make the racist nature of the time seem subtle, and though it introduces
traces of it, we see Jim West handle himself like a pro, rising above it all.
It’s arguable
that the production cost for this flick was too high, but a ’90s movie starring
Will Smith was supposed to be a crowd-puller. It was, to some extent, but not
enough to turn a profit.
Still, the movie is fun, and you get to enjoy Will Smith and Kevin Kline as law
officers who are all over the place, trying to save the President of the United
States in the most entertaining way.
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