'Wild Wild West,' a wild special effects ride

'Wild Wild West,' a wild special effects ride

By Tam Notosusanto

JAKARTA (JP): Is there really any American or British
television series left unmade for the big screen?

Every year, we witness how Hollywood digs up the tube
culture's treasured past and comes up with repackaged material
that are quintessential summer blockbusters. That has been part
of Hollywood's own growing recycled culture: remakes of TV
series, remakes of other movies and re-remakes of other movies.

And so, Wild Wild West comes as no surprise. That the
memorable 1965-1970 series, about two federal agents in post-
Civil War America fighting ingenious enemies of the state, should
be brought to the big screen is inevitable, if not highly
anticipated.

This Warner Bros. production retains very much of the series'
charm, except, of course, stars Robert Conrad and the late Ross
Martin. In their place are Will Smith and Kevin Kline, two of
Hollywood's current most bankable stars. Smith, as we know, has
become an annual summer blockbuster hero, and Wild Wild West
marks his fourth consecutive year in that position, following
Independence Day, Men in Black and Enemy of the State. Kline,
meanwhile, is an actor formerly known as a face in serious dramas
before his Oscar-winning comic prowess in A Fish Called Wanda led
him to mostly comedy roles such as I Love You to Death, French
Kiss and In & Out. Wild Wild West makes the best
possible use of both talents.

Set in 1869 America, the story brings Captain Jim West (Smith)
and U.S. Marshal Artemus Gordon (Kline) together on an assignment
from President Ulysses S. Grant to delve into a string of
abductions of the nation's most prominent scientists and
inventors. As they reluctantly go into their collaborative
investigation, West and Gordon eventually meet the evil
mastermind Dr. Arliss Loveless (Kenneth Branagh), a disabled
technological genius and disgruntled ex-Confederate soldier who
is keen on assassinating President Grant and take over the United
States administration.

The movie proceeds as an adventure spectacle as West and
Gordon attempt to thwart Loveless's evil plans and release the
scientists he imprisons. But although the film's title suggests
that it is all about endless gunfights and other western movies'
antics, Wild Wild West is actually so much more than that.
Despite the 19th century setting, it can still be a dazzling
display of state-of-the-art special effects that deserve a place
alongside some of the best visual effects work ever exhibited in
motion pictures.

With this film, producer-director Barry Sonnenfeld establishes
himself even more as the crafter of comical effects-laden movies,
following a filmography that includes The Addams Family, Addams
Family Values, and the hugely-successful Men in Black. With Wild
Wild West sci-fi fans are indulged with the two agents' hi-tech
train, Gordon's innovative creations, and a giant robotic
tarantula which is a swifter, smoother version of those gigantic
camels in The Empire Strikes Back. And wouldn't Lt. Dan, that
crippled war veteran in Forrest Gump (a movie Sonnenfeld was
slated to direct) be full of envy to see Dr. Loveless's entirely
missing lower limbs, a technical feat which would surely bring
this movie to next year's Oscars' visual effects competition.

Sadly, the film itself is missing something, and it's the
intelligence and humor that has brought The Addams Family and Men
in Black much acclaim. The Wild Wild West's script is credited to
six individuals -- Jim Thomas, John Thomas, S.S. Wilson, Brent
Maddock, Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman -- and even that
doesn't help. Their idea of wit is suggestive lines like "baby,
you can't be rammin' a man's personal thing into a hole like
that," which is inserted in the tedious pre-credit opening
sequence. After that, it's an endless series of insipid jokes and
uninspired one-liners, with a meaningless overplay of gay
undertones (each of the heroes dressed in drag in two separate
occasions, a scene of them touching each other's breasts, and how
a function at Dr. Loveless' residence is referred to as his
coming-out party.

It would still have been a blast if Smith had employed his
witty, cool-cat charm, but he was only given limited comedy time
since Jim West is apparently supposed to be the serious, no-
nonsense gunslinger.

There's nothing exciting too see either from Branagh, who
looks like a demented Hercule Poirot with hair extensions, and
whose false southern accent is much worse than the one he uses in
The Gingerbread Man. Nor from Salma Hayek, whose damsel-in-
distress role is a drawback to all strong, independent female
roles of the 1990s: she's an insignificant sexpot whose
main task is to exclaim admiringly, "Ooh, he's courageous, or
Ooh, he's so graceful."

That leaves Kline, who plays the dual role of Gordon and
President Grant, a sight to see. Appearing as two different
individuals in one frame, conversing with each other, is a trick
he has showcased in Dave and Fierce Creatures. He and the special
effects are the only reasons Wild Wild West stays afloat.