6) Wild Wild West
Production Budget: $170 million
Worldwide Box Office Total: $222,105,681
The history books will always read that Will Smith turned down the opportunity to play Neo in The Matrix in favour of a lead role in Barry Sonnenfield’s bombastic western, Wild Wild West. Clocking in at $170 million, it was the most expensive film that Warner Bros. had produced for that time, and one that has been candidly derided by the star of the original television series. In fact, Robert Conrad was there to accept the trio of Razzie awards for Wild Wild West as a blasé and damning expression to Sonnenfield’s expensive rendition.
It was a film that effectively derailed Will Smith’s reign as the king of the summer blockbuster too, following his streak from Men In Black and Independence Day. And once Wild Wild West opened for the movie-going audience, it was evident that the script had been passed around four screenwriters and eight producers like an unbearable lump of hot coal. The fracture lines in the end product were there for all to see: actors giving half-hearted performances, a plot that feels forced and, above all, an emphasis on CGI effects rather than story.
A cacophony of sci-fi, western, comedy and action, Wild Wild West was a jack of all trades, but ultimately a master of none.