As one of Hollywood’s most famous actors, Will Smith starred in many successful movies over the years, from Independence Day and Men in Black to the live-action Aladdin remake and Bad Boys for Life. But not all the entries on Smith’s filmography have been winners, with one of the more well-known duds on the list being 1999’s Wild Wild West. To that end, Smith recently joked about why he considers Wild Wild West to be his worst movie.
Will Smith recently took part in GQ’s “Undercover” video series, and among the questions he answered was what he considers to be the best and worst Will Smith movie. In the former category, Smith said it was a tie between the first Men in Black movie and The Pursuit of Happyness, while in the latter category, he had this to say:
Wild Wild West is just a thorn in my side. To see myself with chaps. … I don’t like it.
While there might be some people out there who don’t mind the sight of Will Smith wearing chaps, there’s no denying that Smith isn’t alone in thinking negatively about Wild Wild West (which he chose over The Matrix). In addition to commercially underwhelming with a $222 million worldwide haul off a reported $170 million budget, Wild Wild West earned primarily negative critical reception during its theatrical run, and subsequently won five Golden Raspberry Awards and was nominated in three other categories. Yeah, film history won’t look kindly on this offering.
Taking place four years after the American Civil War, Wild Wild West, which was loosely adapted from the 1960s TV series The Wild Wild West, saw Will Smith’s U.S. Army Captain Jim West teaming up Kevin Kline’s U.S. Marshal Artemus Gordon to protect President Ulysses Grant (also played by Kline) from many threats across the American Old West. The movie also co-starred Salma Hayek, Kenneth Branagh and Ted Levine, and according to filmmaker Kevin Smith, Wild Wild West’s infamous giant mechanical spider came from producer Jon Peters, who had wanted Superman to fight such a monstrosity for the fifth movie centered on DC Comics’ Man of Steel that was in development earlier in the ‘90s.
So Wild Wild West won’t go down as one of Will Smith’s more beloved movies, but hey, at least the actor is still keeping busy nowadays with plenty of high-profile projects. Smith can next be seen playing Richard Williams, father of tennis superstars Venus and Serena Williams, in King Richard, which comes to theaters and HBO Max on November 19. Following that, Smith will star in Emancipation, an action thriller about a runaway slave being directed by Antoine Fuqua. The actor also expressed interest in reprising DC Comics assassin Deadshot after having to sit out The Suicide Squad., and it was recently announced he’ll star in a musical based off his 1991 song “Summertime.”
Keep checking back with CinemaBlend for more news concerning Will Smith’s career. For those wondering what movies are left to arrive this year alongside King Richard, look through our 2021 release schedule.