# Wild Wild West (1999 Will Smith film)-How did they get this so wrong? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 20, 2009, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wild-wild-west-1999-will-smith-film-how-did-they-get-this-so-wrong/510862 "2009-09-20T19:14:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wild-wild-west-1999-will-smith-film-how-did-they-get-this-so-wrong/510862/21 "2009-09-21T04:35:02Z")
I like Will Smith, generally. I love Kenneth Branaugh. I adore Kevin Kline. …and, yet the movie sucked all life out of them, and killed movie steam-punk for more than a decade, and counting. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wild-wild-west-1999-will-smith-film-how-did-they-get-this-so-wrong/510862/22 "2009-09-21T06:57:16Z")
Branaugh was memorable for his scene chewing. Selma Hayak was memorable for her tremendous beauty. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wild-wild-west-1999-will-smith-film-how-did-they-get-this-so-wrong/510862/23 "2009-09-21T06:57:56Z")
> [@Rod1199](#): > > The one thing they got right was putting Salma Hayek in it. > > It made me forget about the bad plot while she was on screen! 🙂 😉 Yes, she was a breast of fresh air. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wild-wild-west-1999-will-smith-film-how-did-they-get-this-so-wrong/510862/24 "2009-09-21T12:32:58Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > I like Will Smith, generally. > I love Kenneth Branaugh. > I adore Kevin Kline. > > …and, yet the movie sucked all life out of them, and killed movie steam-punk for more than a decade, and counting. I suspect that since all of them are good actors, and all of them (and Hayek, also a good actor) scene chewed their way through this in a way usually only seen in a high school production of Arsenic and Old Lace, that there was a directoral decision to “make it bigger.” Kevin Kline has proven that he can nibble scenery much more subtlety. (And you have League of Extraordinary Gentlemen putting the nail in the coffin of Steampunk). ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wild-wild-west-1999-will-smith-film-how-did-they-get-this-so-wrong/510862/25 "2009-09-21T14:30:45Z")
> [@](#): > > They’ve been making lots of movies based on great old TV shows, and they fail when the makers don’t understand why the show was great in the first place. The classic case was Mission: Impossible. The TV show was always about a tight-knit, perfectly coordinated team pulling an elaborate con on some drug dealer or iron-curtain puppet regime. The master of disguise, the techy gadget guy, the femme fatale, and the muscle all had to play their parts. And when the job was done, they slipped away quitely to leave someone else holding the bag. For the movie, they made it a star vehicle for Tom Cruise as the lone-wolf agent fighting for his life on a train being chased by a helicopter. In a tunnel. > > Same thing with Wild Wild West, they stole from the TV series without knowing why it was worth stealing from. Agree entirely. I knew it was going to be bad when they didn’t start it with the great theme song from the show. And they ended with that horribly done version of it. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wild-wild-west-1999-will-smith-film-how-did-they-get-this-so-wrong/510862/26 "2009-09-21T16:22:42Z")
I actually thought it was good, brainless summer fun. I confess I never followed the original TV series all that closely, so I wasn’t holding it to that standard. And c’mon - tell me you didn’t laugh at this exchange when you first saw it: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8P5E3C052MQ](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8P5E3C052MQ) ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wild-wild-west-1999-will-smith-film-how-did-they-get-this-so-wrong/510862/27 "2009-09-21T19:17:07Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > Yeah, I mean . . . have you ever _tried_ talking movies with Hollywood’s key demographic? > > “The dialogue was _awful_” > > _Stares blankly_ _Blinks_ “The dia-huh-what?” > > Hollywood doesn’t bother with good writing because they don’t have to. Yep. Look at Transformers 2. Everyone said the same thing about it… “insulting to my intelligence”, “made no sense”, “loud and brash”, “too stupid for words”, etc. etc. $410 million domestic box office. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wild-wild-west-1999-will-smith-film-how-did-they-get-this-so-wrong/510862/28 "2009-09-21T20:23:37Z")
> [@Just\_Ed](#): > > _Wild Wild West_ was produced by [Jon Peters](http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0005307/), and the best story about Jon Peters comes from [Kevin Smith](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgYhLIThTvk) (YouTube clip, strong language) recounting his experience in rewriting a possible Superman sequel. The clip is nineteen minutes long, but hilarious, and explains a lot about Peters - notably the giant spider in _Wild Wild West_. That was brilliant. Too much fun! ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wild-wild-west-1999-will-smith-film-how-did-they-get-this-so-wrong/510862/29 "2009-09-21T20:50:57Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > I actually thought it was good, brainless summer fun. I confess I never followed the original TV series all that closely, so I wasn’t holding it to that standard. And c’mon - tell me you didn’t laugh at this exchange when you first saw it: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8P5E3C052MQ](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8P5E3C052MQ) Ha-ha! He sure made that amputee feel bad about not having legs! ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wild-wild-west-1999-will-smith-film-how-did-they-get-this-so-wrong/510862/30 "2009-09-21T21:10:40Z")
When it’s a murderous, evil amputee who’s using racist insults, well, my friend, sometimes you’ve gotta fight fire with fire. ---
**Author:** ![nivlac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3bc359/32.png) [@nivlac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nivlac)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wild-wild-west-1999-will-smith-film-how-did-they-get-this-so-wrong/510862/31 "2009-09-21T21:29:19Z")
As a devoted fan of the original TV series the WWW movie was despicably bad. The chemistry between West and Gordon in the TV show was just not there between Smith and Kline in the movie. I can even forgive that if they didn’t make a travesty of the Dr. Loveless character. Instead of using a dwarf (like the great Michael Dunn) they simply took away Kenneth Branagh’s legs to make him short! But, yes, Salma Hayek was the one redeeming part of the movie. ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wild-wild-west-1999-will-smith-film-how-did-they-get-this-so-wrong/510862/32 "2009-09-21T21:55:36Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > When it’s a murderous, evil amputee who’s using racist insults, well, my friend, sometimes you’ve gotta fight fire with fire. Sorry, you asked if we thought it was funny, and I didn’t find either the “you’re colored” or the “you’re only half a man jokes” funny at all, although the latter were more offensive to me in that they came from the ostensible “good guy” who was clearly meant to be the victor in that exchange. The whole sequence was pretty much the opposite of funny. Mileage varies, obviously. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wild-wild-west-1999-will-smith-film-how-did-they-get-this-so-wrong/510862/33 "2009-09-21T22:06:55Z")
> [@Just\_Ed](#): > > _Wild Wild West_ was produced by [Jon Peters](http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0005307/), and the best story about Jon Peters comes from [Kevin Smith](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgYhLIThTvk) (YouTube clip, strong language) recounting his experience in rewriting a possible Superman sequel. The clip is nineteen minutes long, but hilarious, and explains a lot about Peters - notably the giant spider in _Wild Wild West_. Warning: after watching this, you will never be able to take Jon Peters or anything he is associated with seriously again. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wild-wild-west-1999-will-smith-film-how-did-they-get-this-so-wrong/510862/34 "2009-09-21T22:29:46Z")
> [@TWDuke](#): > > Sorry, you asked if we thought it was funny, and I didn’t find either the “you’re colored” or the “you’re only half a man jokes” funny at all, although the latter were more offensive to me in that they came from the ostensible “good guy” who was clearly meant to be the victor in that exchange. The whole sequence was pretty much the opposite of funny. Mileage varies, obviously. Oh good grief. This is the kind of crap that gives political correctness a bad name. You know, evil actions - _actually being a bad guy_ - are a lot worse than any kind of joke. Unless you’re aghast at every single bit of violence on tv and in the movies (which would pretty much require living with a blindfold and earplugs in modern America), then you need your offense-o-meter recalibrated. Punching him would’ve been worse than making cripple jokes, but I guarantee you wouldn’t have blinked at that. ---
**Author:** ![Gustav](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/919ad9/32.png) [@Gustav](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gustav)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wild-wild-west-1999-will-smith-film-how-did-they-get-this-so-wrong/510862/35 "2009-09-21T22:35:28Z")
Yeah, but punching him might have been funny ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wild-wild-west-1999-will-smith-film-how-did-they-get-this-so-wrong/510862/36 "2009-09-21T22:48:04Z")
I still can’t get past the fact that the OP watched that POS movie _three times!_ ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wild-wild-west-1999-will-smith-film-how-did-they-get-this-so-wrong/510862/37 "2009-09-21T23:12:56Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > Oh good grief. This is the kind of crap that gives political correctness a bad name. That’s the kind of overreaction that has robbed the term “political correctness” of any effectiveness. I refrained from personally insulting anyone who found the clip funny, but somehow the fact that _I_ didn’t laugh has offended _you_. How about accepting that not everyone sees things your way, and that’s OK? > [@](#): > > You know, evil actions - _actually being a bad guy_ - are a lot worse than any kind of joke. I would think that went without saying, but OK. > [@](#): > > Unless you’re aghast at every single bit of violence on tv and in the movies (which would pretty much require living with a blindfold and earplugs in modern America), then you need your offense-o-meter recalibrated. Right, I have to find that setting that ignores insults based on race and disability but allows me to be offended by people not laughing at things I find funny. Might be tricky. > [@](#): > > Punching him would’ve been worse than making cripple jokes, but I guarantee you wouldn’t have blinked at that. That’s odd that you think you can guarantee that. ---
**Author:** ![mr.jp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/48db29/32.png) [@mr.jp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mr.jp)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wild-wild-west-1999-will-smith-film-how-did-they-get-this-so-wrong/510862/38 "2009-09-21T23:24:32Z")
I thought it was clever and funny. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wild-wild-west-1999-will-smith-film-how-did-they-get-this-so-wrong/510862/39 "2009-09-21T23:24:56Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > I still can’t get past the fact that the OP watched that POS movie _three times!_ There’s part of it I could watch endlessly. It’s the part that pokes out the back of Rita Escobar’s union suit. ---
**Author:** ![Roadfood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9fc348/32.png) [@Roadfood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roadfood)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wild-wild-west-1999-will-smith-film-how-did-they-get-this-so-wrong/510862/40 "2009-09-21T23:32:45Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > I actually thought it was good, brainless summer fun. I confess I never followed the original TV series all that closely, so I wasn’t holding it to that standard. And c’mon - tell me you didn’t laugh at this exchange when you first saw it: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8P5E3C052MQ](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8P5E3C052MQ) Um, no, I didn’t laugh when I first saw it, and I definitely didn’t laugh when I watched that clip a second ago. Completely unfunny, totally forced, and just painful. That scene just screams “Writers trying desperately to write funny”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wild-wild-west-1999-will-smith-film-how-did-they-get-this-so-wrong/510862.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wild-wild-west-1999-will-smith-film-how-did-they-get-this-so-wrong/510862.md?page=3)