So very bad. Despite the great cast
933198
So very bad. Despite the great cast, I can't believe this movie received any Emmy nominations, let alone that it took the 2013 prize for both Outstanding Movie and Lead Actor. The characters were flat, one dimensional; something I wouldn't have thought possible, given the talent and flamboyance of the real-life Liberace. It seems the extent of the writer's research was Scott Thorson's memoir, so it's really his version of events as they relate to a small part of Liberace's life, and not really Liberace's story.
816068
It's hard to believe that this pathetic thing was directed by the same Alain Resnais as the one who directed other wonderful films, such as 'Providence', and 'Last Year at Marienbad'.  The wonderful performances of Gerard Depardieu, Micheline Presle, and Linda Lavin cannot carry the extremely grating and annoying performance of Adolph Green.  No bad acting, no matter how putrescent, can do justice to the ridiculous and vulgarly scripted role of Joey Wellman.  Linda Lavin does a good job trying to redeem the American characters, but Laura Benson's wooden acting complements Green's crude balsa wood lampooning of Americans.  Depardieu, Presle, and Lavin are evanescent, all the more so in the dim company of Green and Benson, but, unfortunately, do not take up enough screen time to keep this film above water, much as it pains me to write this about any Resnais film.

Let's hope for a Criterion Blu-ray edition of the wonderful 'Providence' to offset the damage done to Resnais' reputation by this poor film.
878978
Stupid, bad acting, farce.  But it is so bad it is kind of good.
632383
Stunningly bad.  No redeeming value what so ever.  A movie where good actors went to die.
2861033
Terrible, mostly... Since there were some good actors in it, I blame the material.
3726822
Aaron Sorkins dialogue is excruciating. The entire movie is so boring I can't believe it was directed by the talented Danny Boyle. Fassbender's talent can't save this....
2067973
This is a project that had everything going for it:  A terrific cast, a director with a proven track record, great special effects, a huge budget  and the promise of being the heir apparent of a successful television  series.  So what went wrong?  Because "Wild Wild West," directed by Barry  Sonnenfeld, is...well, just not very good.  It's a case, apparently, of  everything being poised for greatness until it all went south.  And that's  pretty much the bottom line here; nothing about this film works.  Nothing.  Not that everyone didn't try hard, because it's obvious that they did,  right down to the last man and the last lame joke.  It reminds me of a line  from "Mystery Men":  Someone refers to another as being "mysterious;"  someone else says, "That's it?  He's mysterious?"  "Well," is the reply,  "He's VERY mysterious."  Did they try hard in this one?  They tried VERY  hard.  But, very simply, nothing worked.  The usually charismatic Will  Smith (James West) didn't even have that working for him here; Kevin Kline  (Artemus) didn't fare any better, and Kenneth Branagh (Dr. Loveless) proved  to be one of the most forgettable villains in the history of the cinema.  His over-the-top performance could do nothing to salvage a character that  was anemic and uninteresting to begin with.  As for Salma Hayek, it's  nothing more than a case of a beautiful, talented actress being used as  window dressing; and here it's like putting curtains on the windows of the  Titanic even as it's sinking.  Sonnenfeld will have to accept his  share of the blame, since the director, above and beyond everyone else,  should have seen what was happening as filming progressed (or in this case,  regressed).  It's hard to figure how the man who gave us "Men In Black" and  "Get Shorty" (among others) could have let this one slip so badly.  It's  downright confusing as to how such enormously talented people could come  together and go so awry in their endeavors.  The principles here all have  proven themselves elsewhere as masters of impeccable timing, whether it be  in comedy, drama or action features, yet even that falls flat here.  It's  as if this project had a "Jonah" on it from the beginning.  As far as the  plot is concerned, I will not divulge any salient points; unfortunately,  there is nothing significant enough to divulge.  There are a number of  jokes scattered throughout the movie that are not only bad, but seem as if  they were an afterthought, possibly added to a scene only when repairs  could not be effected in the editing room.  If you have not yet seen  this movie, and if you are a fan of Will Smith, Kevin Kline, Kenneth  Branagh or Salma Hayek, or if you have fond memories of the T.V. series  that spawned this film, do yourself a favor:  Rent or buy "Enemy of the  State," "A Fish Called Wanda," "Much Ado About Nothing," or "Fools Rush  In," and let this one go.  Protect those fond memories.  If you absolutely  must have a taste of this, try to catch the music video with Smith doing  the title song.  That video is the best thing about this whole project, and  Hayek has a much more significant part in it than she does in the movie.  Twenty years or so from now, someone will ask Smith what went wrong with  "Wild Wild West;" and he'll probably reply, "Who knows?  It just didn't  work."  As for now, all anyone can say is, "Who Knows?  It just didn't  work."  And that about sums it up.
2301112
It's impossible to say enough bad things about this movie.  It's horrible in every sense of the word.  And therein lies its true genius.  It's like the producers went out of their way to violate every known rule of good film making.
The boom mike hangs down in clear view, scenes are choppy and incoherent, and Rudy Ray Moore is clearly stoned most of the time.  This is the sort of dreck that Ed Wood would consider unacceptable.  And all of that makes it the classic it is.  I have never laughed harder at anything in my life.  Recommended to the highest possible degree.
1574575
It's really a one star movie, but I just can't do that. When I was very young I loved this movie & saw this in a theater 7 times & loved it each time. The reality is that this is awful in nearly every way. Bad acting, terrible writing, no direction, but there remains some memory fondness. But it's really terrible, I hate to say.
860241
This is a really bad movie.

I love comedies, from the classics (Some Like It Hot) to the greats (Holy Grail) to the dumb-but-funny (Saving Silverman, Zoolander, The Hot Chick). But I don't love this. Not funny. Poorly made. Totally formula.

When the characters are as fake as comic strip characters, you're in trouble. When the the audience can predict everything that happens next, you're in big trouble. And when you're 25 minutes into a 'comedy' and you've laughed only twice, you're in huge trouble.
59125
There was so much wrong with this movie its hard to say what's right. Dale Midkiff and De Young as stars promised more than was delivered (but at least they can act). The acting of the supporting cast was atrocious. Ami Dolenz' EMT was particularly badly done for a professional actor. The others were almost painful to watch esp. Dolenz' 'mom', but they weren't professionals. Sadly, actors becoming Christians apparently means never acting w/professionals again.

Wasn't expecting a xtn movie btw, just a B 2012 knockoff. The forced 'God is leading us' dialogue bought that home. The best special effects were on the box. No, that's not fair. The cross being a stone-churning key at the end was actually nicely done I thought. But what was the prophecy? That they'd be there. Well....OK.

Oddly badly done scenes- faux 'tension' at the geology office. The acting couldn't carry that through so they hammed-up the music. Amusingly inappropriate music. In fact, in a lot of places, the music was overwhelming the dialogue and the scene. Oh, the faux blizzard. At first I thought the CGI was supposed to be pollen! Again, I get 'no money', OK, then don't overreach! At least CGI some 'snow' on the ground. Had the writers or producers never seen 'snow' before? Or understand how 'snow' acts to cover leaves, branches, and ground? Oh and when they took the pregnant woman to the temple (why? to fulfill prophecy. What prophecy? Why important? No clue.), did they bother to ask her if she would prefer a doctor maybe?

Its really sad a christian-based movie feels it has to be the badly acted, poorly written ugly step-child of even badly acted, poorly written B movies. Seems you could drive home some xtn concepts of sticking together, trusting in a higher power without being ham-fisted about it.
3735687
It's really unfortunate that this film is so well known, because director Fritz Lang made better movies than this - and he knew it. (He thought this movie was stupid.) The special effects are fabulous, and really weren't surpassed until the digital age. It helps that this restoration makes it all look fresh and new. But the story is total crap. It's sad because anyone coming to this film new won't be inclined to check out other, far better Lang films: like his first sound film M, with Peter Lorre, or his silent films Spies, Dr. Mabuse the Gambler, or Der Nibelungen.
3723196
Horribly done.  Had potential but painful to watch
714246
There aren't words sufficient to express just how piss-poor this movie is.  The writing is a disaster, the acting is so bad it makes the viewer visibly uncomfortable, and the production quality is about as low-budget as it gets.

The only thing working for this movie is just how bad it is.  I was flipping around last night and caught it coming on Showtime.  Out of curiosity, I decided to watch the first few minutes and, before I knew it, I was completely mesmerized by how utterly terrible this movie was in every possible respect. I mean, if the movie had been just bad--as opposed to an absolute train wreck--I certainly would've stopped watching it.  But this movie was so mindblowingly terrible that I simply couldn't turn away.

So it has that going for it.  Which is nice.
4776431
I really, really wanted to like the movie. I did. The actors playing the "children" are way too old and the acting is sub par at best. The script was tired and not even the inclusion of Pierce Brosnan and Uma Thurman could help this pitiful exoerience. For such a popular series you would think they could have made a better movie. The books and audio books are fantastic and I recommend sticking with those.
3300424
Unbelievably bad. Clearly, given the many positive ratings for this movie, the general populations ability to judge movies is long gone. Wow bad!!
1858378
Possibly the worst remake ever made. Absolutely revolting performances by Benedict whats his name and that Gary guy. Even the amazing Colin firth is sub par. Stellar tale is rewritten into pedestrian spy story with the most forced and artificial acting imaginable.  Wretchedly bad on every level.