Wild Wild West (1999)
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Two government agents in the American Old West must stop a mad scientist from using a massive mechanical spider to destroy the United States.
The story
Four years after the American Civil War, U.S. Army Captain Jim West and U.S. Marshal Artemus Gordon hunt for a man responsible for a massacre. When President Ulysses S. Grant informs them of a treasonous plot by a mad scientist, the duo is tasked with finding missing scientists before the first transcontinental railroad is inaugurated. While traveling on their train, The Wanderer, they discover a lead to Dr. Arliss Loveless, a scientist and former soldier. The pair must navigate a series of dangerous encounters to stop Loveless's plan to seize control of the country's resources and territory.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In 1869, Jim West and Artemus Gordon are tasked by President Grant to stop Dr. Arliss Loveless, a villainous scientist who has kidnapped other scientists and plans to divide the United States among several nations. During their journey on the train The Wanderer, they encounter Loveless's henchmen and a woman named Rita Escobar. After a series of skirmishes, they discover Loveless's industrial complex in Spider Canyon, which houses his ultimate weapon: a giant mechanical spider with nitroglycerin cannons. At a ceremony for the transcontinental railroad, Loveless captures Grant. West and Gordon must infiltrate the complex, where West eventually faces Loveless and the mechanical spider. After a frantic battle involving a flying bicycle and a confrontation at the edge of a canyon, the spider is disabled. Grant survives and appoints West and Gordon as the first agents of his new Secret Service. The film ends with the duo riding into the sunset on the mechanical spider.
- First release year
- 1999
- Runtime (minutes)
- 106
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Barry Sonnenfeld
- Writers
- S. S. Wilson · screenplay; Brent Maddock · screenplay; Jeffrey Price · screenplay; Peter S. Seaman · screenplay; Jim Thomas · story; John Thomas · story
- Cast and characters
- Will Smith · Jim West; Kevin Kline · Artemus Gordon; Kenneth Branagh · Dr. Arliss Loveless; Salma Hayek · Rita Escobar; Ted Levine · not specified
- Genres
- Western; comedy; steampunk; action; science fiction
- Themes
- Technology vs. Tradition; Patriotism
- Tone and mood
- Action-packed; Humorous; Anachronistic
- Premise and plot tags
- Buddy Cop; Steampunk; Western; Alternate History
- Source material / true-story basis
- The Wild Wild West (1960s television series)
- Franchise connections
- The Wild Wild West
- Reception
- The film was a critical and commercial failure, noted for its high budget and poor box office performance relative to its costs.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 40 · scale: 100 · review count: 25; CinemaScore · score: C+ · scale: A+ to F
- Awards and nominations
- Golden Raspberry Award · Worst Picture · 20th · Won; Golden Raspberry Award · Worst Original Song · 20th · Won
- Production trivia
- The film was one of the most expensive films ever made when adjusting for inflation at the time of its release.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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