Men in Black (1997)

"The special effects are amazing...[and] there are endless unexpected and clever moments throughout...  Christine James, Box Office Magazine
"The smartest, funniest, and best-looking sci-fi comedy since the movies learned to morph.  David Edelstein, Slate
"A smart, funny and hip adventure...  Gene Siskel, Chicago Tribune
"...a bountiful supply of both fanciful beasties and ingenious visuals.  Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
"...playfully hip and hilarious...  Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
"The snappy sci-fi hoot "Men in Black"...is a kind of "Independence Day" for smart people.  Susan Wloszczynal, USA Today
"Charm, wit and some outrageous insect-type aliens make a winning cosmic combination.  VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever

Editor's Note In the 1950s a super-secret government agency was formed to monitor and police the activities of extraterrestrial aliens on the planet Earth. Some 40 years later a founding father of the agency, Agent Kay (Tommy Lee Jones), finds himself with a new smart-mouthed partner fresh from the NYPD who is soon dubbed Agent Jay (Will Smith). Their first mission is to save the Earth from destruction by a giant insectlike alien (Vincent D'Onfrio) that, incidentally, drives an exterminator's truck. Armed with their matching Ray-Bans, skinny ties, and space-age weapons that Jay barely understands--he calls the Neuralyzer the "flashy thing"--the new duo begin another average day of fighting intergalactic terrorists. An amazingly hip and terribly clever movie that riffs on everything from E.T.--THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL to CASABLANCA, this Barry Sonnenfeld film is based on the equally savvy comic book by Lowell Cunningham.

	David Cross
	Linda Fiorentino
	Rip Torn
	Tommy Lee Jones
	Tony Shalhoub
	Verne Troyer
	Vincent D'Onofrio
	Will Smith
	Barry Sonnenfeld - Director
	Bo Welch - Production Designer
	Danny Elfman - Original Music By
	Donald Peterman - Cinematographer
	Ed Solomon - Screenplay
	Jim Miller - Editor
	Laurie MacDonald - Producer
	Lowell Cunningham - Based On Comic Books By
	Steven Spielberg - Executive Producer
	Tom Duffield - Art Director

A hilariously stoic top-secret federal agent (Tommy Lee Jones) and his wisecracking partner (Will Smith) don their matching Ray-Bans and skinny black ties and proceed to use all their considerable weaponry and wit to save the world from an undocumented and extremely unfriendly mantislike alien. MEN IN BLACK is a successful, tongue-in-cheek spoof of summer blockbuster alien invasion flicks, based on the comic book by Lowell Cunningham. USA Today
"...The out-there premise is irresistible.... Effects master Rick Baker whips up a swell array of oddball creatures great, small and just plain strange..." -- 4 out of 4 stars 07/01/1997 p.1D

New York Times
"...Dryly clever....Extraordinarily ambitious, with all-star design and special-effects talent and a genuinely artful visual style..." 07/01/1997 p.C9

Los Angeles Times
"...Wised-up and offhandedly funny....Barry Sonnenfeld is an excellent director for this point of view, and MEN IN BLACK is a blend of the strengths of his previous films..." 07/01/1997 p.F1

Chicago Sun-Times
"...The movie makes good use of a lot of New York landmarks....[The film] deflates one sci-fi pomposity after another..." 07/01/1997 p.25

Total Film
4 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he leads' buddy-buddy act works a charm, Smith's mock-macho maximalism and Jones' dour minimalism deliciously contrasted." 06/01/2012

ReelViews 8 of 10
Have you ever seen a tabloid headline like this: "Woman gives birth to son of six-headed alien"? Men in Black, the new science fiction comedy from cinematographer-turned-director Barry Sonnenfeld (Get Shorty), postulates that such stories are not the result of fertile imaginations, but accurate representations of the truth. You see, ever since the 1960s, Earth has become an intergalactic hideout for aliens in need of a place to lie low for a while. Currently, there are over 1500 visitors, most in New York City (based on personal experience, that number may be low), and their ranks include such high-profile names as Sylvester Stallone...In many ways, Men in Black is the movie that Mars Attacks! wanted to be, but wasn't. This is a snappy, clever, often-funny motion picture that provides the perfect blend of science fiction-style action with comic dialogue...The chief pleasure of Men in Black isn't being dazzled by the special effects, but enjoying the deadpan performances of Tommy Lee Jones (whose offhand attitude towards the most bizarre events would make Jack Webb proud) and Will Smith. This is a rare case when the multi-million dollar, computer-generated creatures don't upstage their real-life co-stars. Smith and Jones are a fine pair, and the film's focus on them never wavers. - James Berardinelli

Reel.com 10 of 10
Following on the heels of the 1996 alien-invasion blockbuster Independence Day, Men in Black cemented Will Smith's hold on Fourth of July weekend -- until Wild Wild West tossed that holiday up for grabs. Like the previous year's money-mill, MiB pairs Smith with misbehaving extraterrestrials -- this time in a more overtly comedic format, opposite straight-man Tommy Lee Jones, as the mysterious "Agent K"...Based on the comic book by Lowell Cunningham, MiB retains the hip, irreverent tone of the original while clearly serving as a showcase for Smith and Jones (as generically named as their on-screen counterparts), both of whom rewrote scenes and sections of dialogue during production. Jones is perfect as the old-school-but-cool instructor to Smith's can't-teach-me-nuthin' novice...Matching the snappy humor in entertainment impact are the special effects, which are a combination of Oscar-winning makeup, helmed by Rick Baker, imaginative puppetry, and stunning computer graphics from the team at Industrial Light and Magic. Most of this edition's extra features illuminate the astonishing amount of work and creativity behind the array of creatures on display throughout the film. - Mary Kalin-Casey