Will Smith Says That WILD WILD WEST is His Worst Movie and "A Thorn in His Side"
I remember seeing Will Smith’s 1999 film Wild Wild West when it was first released. I was a big fan of Will Smith, westerns, and I thought steampunk was cool. So, I was actually looking forward to watching the movie, but damn… that flick was terrible! It’s crazy to think that Smith turned down The Matrix to star in Wild Wild West! I’ve only seen Wild Wild West once, and I’ll probably never watch it again.
In a recent video shared by GQ, Smith discusses his career and he reveals what he believes are the best and worst films that he’s starred in. He says that Wild Wild West was his worst:
"For the best, I think it is a tie between the first 'Men in Black' and 'The Pursuit of Happyness.' For different reasons, those are the two almost perfect movies. Worst? 'Wild Wild West' is just a thorn in my side. To see myself with chaps... I don't like it."
Here’s what’s interesting, his best and worst movie were directed by the same person, Barry Sonnenfeld. It makes sense that he’d want to work with Sonnenfeld again after Men in Black, and he was also joining Oscar winner Kevin Kline in the movie, so everything seemed good on paper. But, the end result was awful. Smith went on to say:
"I had so much success that I started to taste global blood and my focus shifted from my artistry to winning. I wanted to win and be the biggest movie star, and what happened was there was a lag — around 'Wild Wild West' time — I found myself promoting something because I wanted to win versus promoting something because I believed in it."
He obviously learned a valuable lesson from his choices.
In the movie, “When President Ulysses S. Grant (Kline) learns that diabolical inventor Dr. Arliss Loveless (Kenneth Branagh) is planning to assassinate him, he orders Civil War hero James West (Will Smith) and U.S. Marshal Artemus Gordon (also Kline) to arrest him. West's trigger-happy personality doesn't always mesh well with that of the thoughtful Gordon, but they manage to work together. And with the help of a mysterious stranger (Salma Hayek), West and Gordon close in on Loveless.”
What did you all think of Wild Wild West when you first watched it?