Wild Wild West [1999]

Review

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First things first. It was truly nifty to actually go see Kenneth Branagh in my local multiplex instead of having to ferret out which little art theater in Seattle was running his movie for a week.

I think I'd have been willing to see him go play Barney the big purple dinosaur at my local multiplex -- well, maybe not, although I have to say his Jimmy Swaggart meets Robert E. Lee meets, um, severely vertically challenged impersonation was a far cry from Hamlet.

Highlights:

The best part of the movie was also the most politically incorrect. Will Smith 's black-just-after-the-Civil-War government agent and Ken's gone-below-the-waist vengeful Rebel throwing one-liners at each other brought laughs from the audience even as some of us wanted to cringe -- this is not a run-of-the-mill feel-good popcorn movie. Well, it is a popcorn movie (what else were you expecting?), but it's definitely got an edge. I've heard the racist complaints. I'm sort of surprised we haven't heard anything about the disability jokes...

Ken's villain was so far over the top he was sliding down the other side (literally, at one point), the gadgets were nifty, Will Smith was Will Smith (which in this case was a Good Thing), and Kevin Kline was everything from a prostitute to the President of the United States.

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I'd pay good money for an out takes tape, though (esp. the belly-dance scene...), and I'd love to string up whoever edited it. I didn't know until someone mentioned that that's what it was when I was sitting in the theater, I just knew there was something wrong.

Loved the gadgets (but then, like several of the reviewers, Q is one of my favorite Bond characters). Loved Kevin Kline playing the President. Loved most of how they got round Smith being black (could have done without the lynching scene, though).

Conclusion:

Anyway, don't pay quite so much attention to the reviewers. Most of them were put off by the un-PC aspects.

If you're looking for a popcorn flick with lots of action and some serious belly laughs, WWW is it.

[Photo Gallery]

- Meg

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