Wild Wild West (widescreen version) [DVD] [1999]

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