Wild Wild West, the summer’s much-anticipated action flick stars Will Smith as James T. West, a gun-slinging, trigger-happy Casanova and Kevin Kline as Artemus Gordon, a cautious inventor and master of disguises. The two end up pairing up when Gordon, on assignment as an undercover female prostitute, runs into West in a not-so-friendly meeting. West reveals he is with the Army and Gordon reveals that he is a U.S. Marshall, and both discover they are in pursuit of the evil Dr. Arliss Loveless (Kenneth Branagh).
Loveless is a ruthless, back-stabbing former confederate whose lower half was lost in one of his own botched scientific experiments. He, along with General “blood bath” McGrath (Ted Levine) plot to resurrect the South by force. Loveless has been kidnapping scientists in hopes of using their knowledge of mechanics and explosives to his own evil advantage. Using a giant make-shift robotic tarantula, he then plans to coerce the president, Ulysses S. Grant, to surrender the entire United States of America to him. But Grant’s own hand-picked government agents, West and Gordon, stand in Loveless’ way.
Somehow, damsel-in-distress Rita Escobar (Salma Hayek) manages to join the duo in their quest for Dr. Loveless. Escobar, a scantily-clad “entertainer,” is in search of her father, who is a scientist and feared kidnapped or worse. The film also stars beautiful but deadly vixens Miss East (Bai Ling), Munitia (Musetta Vander), Miss Lippenreider (Sofia Eng), and Amazonia (supermodel Frederique Van Der Wal).
The film’s constant action and high body count make up for the weak plot. As usual, Will Smith incorporates humor into the film, which is based on the popular 1960s television series, “The Wild Wild West.” Of course, the most obvious difference is the African-American Will Smith, but other minorities are represented in the movie as well. Latino Salma Hayek, Asian Bai Ling, and Native-American henchmen, among other minorities, are shown in this remake.
Smith, whose hit-single “Wild Wild West” is on the soundtrack to the film, certainly has approached the character of James West in a unique way. Though nearly lynched and called several derogatory names, his character is able to get even without losing his cool. The movie doesn’t ignore the fact that West is African American, but rather in turn uses that fact in a creative way.
The Wild Wild West Official Site can be found on the Internet at www.wildwildwest.net , and Will Smith’s own webpage can be found at www.willsmith.net.
