Will Smith is a legendary actor with a career spanning decades. He’s done multiple movies that started entire franchises, like Men in Black and Bad Boys. He’s also starred in more serious films, like The Pursuit of Happyness, which earned him an Oscar nomination. It’s a guilty pleasure, but I enjoyed 1999’s Wild Wild West, and the action mentioned it on social media.
Will Smith pointed out that it was the 26th anniversary of Wild Wild West Tuesday on Instagram. He posted, “Wild Wild West came out 26 years ago today- sorry this is the only photo I could find.”
The photo in question is an iconic scene from the start of the movie. Smith, who plays Jim West, falls from a water tower without any clothes on. He yells up to his lady friend for clothes, but she only tosses down his hat. The picture quickly garnered over 60,000 likes and hundreds of comments.
Many commenters have posted cheeky replies, and a few even reveal the scene had an impact on them. One user says, “My favorite scene. Explanation not needed.” Another replied, “Talk about an awakening for me.” One user jokes about another one of Smith’s movies, saying, “How long has it been for I Am Legend 🤔….maybe an old shower photo laying around 🤷🏿♀️.”
Wild Wild West Was One Of Will Smith’s Biggest Movie Flops
While I can find plenty to enjoy in Wild Wild West, and appreciate it as a goofy action flick, it was panned by critics. According to the review aggregate website Metacritic, the movie sits at 40 out of 100 based on critic reviews. The user score is slightly higher, at 53. A bad review score doesn’t necessarily mean nobody went to see it. Many of the Saw movies got terrible scores and still raked in millions, per Box Office Mojo.
Unfortunately, the same site indicates that Wild Wild West was also a commercial flop. It reportedly had a $170 million budget and only made $114 million in return. In an article from 2021 by the Hollywood Reporter, Smith revealed he believes his best roles were in Men in Black and The Pursuit of Happyness. At the time, he said Wild Wild West was his worst and called it a thorn in his side. “To see myself with chaps. I don’t like it,” he joked.