--- title: "Wild Wild West: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/wild-wild-west/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/wild-wild-west" critics_score: 31 critics_reviews: 13 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Wild Wild West (1999): what the critics said Critics' score 31 from 13 reviews: 0 positive, 2 mixed, 11 negative. Most critics find Wild Wild West a laboured action comedy whose gadgets overwhelm a weak script. The reviews repeatedly describe spectacle taking precedence over storytelling, with jokes that fail to land and elaborate effects that do little to sustain interest. Will Smith’s charisma attracts the most consistent praise, even from critics who dislike the film. There is also some admiration for the production design and its eccentric retro science-fiction machinery, though little agreement that these compensate for the writing. The differences are largely a matter of how much pleasure survives the muddle: none of the reviews is positive, and only two are mixed. Sight and Sound finds some compensation in the visual style and Smith’s likeability, while Radio Times still sees good-natured fun in the gadgetry. Harsher reviews find the spectacle exhausting or boring, and several identify the lack of chemistry between Smith and Kevin Kline as a central failure. ## Empire — Andrew Collins Fi1m's normalised score 55/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2000. The critic finds the film a flashy but uneven gadget-driven comedy that falls short of its Men in Black ambitions, with dazzling effects and contraptions undermined by a weak script and uneven performances. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/wild-wild-west-review/) ## Sight and Sound — Andrew O'Hehir Fi1m's normalised score 55/100 (inferred from the text). 1 September 1999. The film gets by on sheer visual style and Will Smith's likeability but feels laboured due to a weak script with six credited writers. Production design successfully captures the quirky Jules Verne sci-fi aesthetic of the original TV series. [Read the review](http://old.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/review/206) ## Radio Times — Alan Jones Rating 2/5. Superficial and predictable with bloated special effects, the film remains good-natured fun thanks to Will Smith's charisma and inventive gadgetry. The smutty script, below-average one-liners and endlessly drawn-out climax are offset by the gizmos. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-7n10q7/wild-wild-west/) ## The New York Times — Janet Maslin Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 30 June 1999. The movie is a big, lavish production with no there there, ruled by ghoulish special effects that leave storytelling arbitrary. Will Smith's presence is noted as its greatest asset amid the flimsiness. [Read the review](https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/film/063099west-film-review.html) ## The New Yorker — David Denby Fi1m's normalised score 35/100 (inferred from the text). 5 July 1999. The hugely expensive action-spoof has all the wrong kind of energy and works over the audience rather than entertaining it. Will Smith stands out as a movie star, but the film is unlikely to be a major commercial success. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1999/07/12/overheated) ## Los Angeles Times — Kenneth Turan Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 30 June 1999. The film gets its proportions wrong, sacrificing playfulness and humor for a relentless display of ho-hum gadgets. Capable co-stars Smith and Kline are underutilized in this top-heavy production. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-jun-30-ca-51432-story.html) ## Variety — Todd McCarthy Fi1m's normalised score 25/100 (inferred from the text). 30 June 1999. Talented people stub their toes in this elaborately expensive misfire that misses the bull's eye as entertainment. The breezy style cannot overcome the cumbersome mechanics and unfocused script. [Read the review](https://variety.com/1999/film/reviews/wild-wild-west-1117742950/) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Fi1m's normalised score 20/100 (inferred from the text). 13 August 1999. The critic's verdict is that the film is a terrible, abject mess without the heart to be a western, the style to be a tech-thriller or enough humour to be a comedy. They single out the complete lack of on-screen chemistry between Will Smith and Kevin Kline for complaint, while noting some ingenious and elaborate design reminiscent of Terry Gilliam and the Coen brothers. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/1999/aug/13/1) ## Time Out — TJ Fi1m's normalised score 20/100 (inferred from the text). 10 September 2012. This is a monument to vacuous chequebook cinema with a pitiful script that produces absolutely no laughs and a profound fog of boredom. It is unrecognisable as the work of the director who made Men in Black. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/wild-wild-west-1) ## RogerEbert.com — Roger Ebert Fi1m's normalised score 15/100 (inferred from the text). 30 June 1999. The film is a comedy dead zone where scenes flop without delivering laughs or substance. The critic highlights the lack of chemistry between leads Will Smith and Kevin Kline and the pointless extravagance of its special effects. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/wild-wild-west-1999) ## Eye for Film — Angus Wolfe Murray Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 19 January 2001. The critic views the film as an over-the-top retro sci-fi spoof where everything is excessive, with explosive gags, grandiose effects, and gothic performances that fail to cohere. Smith and Kline lack chemistry as the leads, while Branagh overacts enjoyably as the villain and Sonnenfeld prioritizes effects over character and story. [Read the review](http://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/wild-wild-west-film-review-by-angus-wolfe-murray) ## Den of Geek — Joe George Fi1m's normalised score 20/100 (inferred from the text). 3 June 2024. The film fails spectacularly as a buddy movie, with mismatched leads and forced direction from Sonnenfeld. It became a punchline due to its bloated budget, negative reception, and lasting embarrassment for those involved, though it delivered on producer Jon Peters' giant spider obsession. [Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/wild-wild-west-jon-peters-giant-spider/) ## The Ringer — Rob Harvilla Fi1m's normalised score 10/100 (inferred from the text). 28 June 2019. The critic calls the film a notorious summer-movie catastrophe and one of the worst big-tentpole releases of its era, remembered mainly for its bomb status and Razzie awards. He singles out the poor chemistry between the leads and the giant mechanical spider as emblematic of its failures. [Read the review](https://www.theringer.com/2019/06/28/movies/wild-wild-west-will-smith-20th-anniversary) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/wild-wild-west.md