Will Smith Explains Why Wild Wild West Is His Worst Film

When Will Smith jumped online to respond to fan comments, he nominated 1999’s Wild Wild West as his least favorite movie of his career. First coming to broad public recognition in the ‘90s sitcom, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Smith has since gone on to rack up an impressive screen resume and has been nominated twice for an Academy Award for Best Actor. After his first on-screen collaboration with director Barry Sonnenfeld on 1997’s Men in Black, Smith signed up to star as Captain James “Jim” T. West in a film adaptation of the 1960s television series, The Wild Wild West.

Originally slated to be directed by Superman and Lethal Weapon director, Richard Donner, with Mel Gibson in the leading role, the pair both departed the project in 1994 to work on the film adaptation of Maverick instead. Produced on a budget of $170 million, at the time of its release, it was considered to be one of the most expensive films ever made. Yet, despite the benefit of its large budget and the positive buzz surrounding Smith and Sonnenfeld’s previous collaboration, Wild Wild West ended up becoming a box-office flop and was savaged by audiences and critics alike.

Most recently, it would seem that even the film’s star is not overly fond of reflecting back on his work on the film either. When Smith participated in GQ’s series of videos which has stars go undercover online and respond to fan comments, the Men in Black star was faced with answering what his best and worst films were. While Smith was torn between The Pursuit of Happyness, which earned him an Oscar nomination, and the first Men in Black for the favorite films of his career, he was quick to name Wild Wild West as his least favorite. Check out his full comments below:

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? I don’t know, Wild Wild West is just a thorn in my side. To see myself with chaps…I don’t like it.

Taking home the dubious honor of winning not one, but five different Golden Raspberry Awards including Worst Film, Worst Director, Worst Screenplay, Worst Original Song, and Worst Onscreen Couple, there’s probably no surprise that Smith considers the film “a thorn” in his side. Yet, while many, including the film’s own star, don’t look back too fondly on the film, it has still managed to secure itself a small band of loyal followers who relish in the film’s Steampunk aesthetic. It also managed to secure itself a spinoff PC video game, Wild Wild West: The Steel Assassin.

With over 30 film credits to his name, spanning three decades, it is probably inevitable that any working actor with that level of experience will have a few films they don’t look back too kindly upon. Despite Wild Wild West’s disappointing box office performance and poor critical reaction, it does not seem to have dampened Smith’s star power or audience appeal. With his next film, King Richard, seeing him portray Richard Williams, the father of tennis legends Serena and Venus Williams, already garnering positive reviews ahead of its release in theaters and on HBO Max in November, it would seem the former Wild Wild West star still has plenty to offer.

Source: GQ

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TC Phillips
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TC Phillips is a scribbler, mess maker, and storyteller by nature. He is also a publisher and an author of his own special brand of warped fiction, and he revels in delving headfirst into all things strange, bizarre, and fantastical. A self-proclaimed nerd of the highest order, the vibrational energy generated by his constant state of fanboy excitement should probably be harnessed to power a small city. When his pancreas is not screaming under the pressure of his dietary habits, he is constantly befuddled by his three children and amazed that his long-suffering wife has not yet taken it upon herself to murder him in his sleep. He Tweets at @T_C_Phillips

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