Men in Black

USA Today Susan Wloszczyna

The snappy sci-fi hoot Men in Black...is a kind of "Independence Day" for smart people.

Slate David Edelstein

The smartest, funniest, and best-looking sci-fi comedy since the movies learned to morph.

San Francisco Examiner Barbara Shulgasser

The script by Ed Solomon is tight, well-paced and lighthearted. If this were a musical, Fred Astaire could have played the Jones role, although somewhat more dashingly.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Rick Groen

Sonnenfeld moves things along with alacrity and panache, serving up the exotic visuals quietly, blending in the sprightly humour efficiently, and keeping the mix at a rolling boil.

Chicago Tribune Gene Siskel

A smart, funny and hip adventure film in a summer of car wrecks and explosions. [4 July 1997]

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

Sonnenfeld deftly orchestrates the intricate two-part harmony, and Smith and Jones -- a powerhouse comic pair -- make it all look easy.

Salon.com Charles Taylor

Behind its mask of deadpan goofiness, it's a friendly, clever picture, one that doesn't feel untouched by human hands. And at an hour-and-a-half, it doesn't wear out its welcome.

The New York Times Elvis Mitchell

Dryly clever.

Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum

Don't expect any psychological depth here, but the cool wit and fun... are deftly maintained, and Sonnenfeld provides a bountiful supply of both fanciful beasties and ingenious visuals.

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith give uproarious comic performances as government agents ordered to keep New York's monsters in Manhattan, where they'll blend right in with the rest of the confusion.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

When the plot finally does click in, it slows down the trajectory a little, but not fatally.

ReelViews James Berardinelli

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.

LA Weekly Manohla Dargis

A great goof of a film...However daftly amusing, and periodically inspired, Men in Black is distinctly short on character and plot, even for a cartoon.

Washington Post Rita Kempley

Sonnenfeld, who demonstrated a knack for Gothic comedy in "The Addams Family," brings the same mischievous gleefulness to this deliriously macabre enterprise.

Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan

A genially twisted riff on the familiar alien invaders story, a lively summer entertainment that marries a deadpan sense of humor to the strangest creatures around.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

The movie, which is based on the Lowell Cunningham comic book series, throws out some wonderful implications, but they’re frustratingly few and far between.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Stephen Thompson

Deserves credit for supplementing its special effects with a breezy script and genuinely charismatic performances by Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones.

Variety Todd McCarthy

A witty and sometimes surreal sci-fi comedy, Men in Black is a wild knuckleball of a movie that keeps dancing in and out of the strike zone.

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

Extravagant special effects notwithstanding, this is really a triumph of casting: The aplomb with which Jones plays wry straight man to Smith's street-smart wiseacre is terrifically enjoyable.

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

The aliens aren't particularly scary or funny, and so the joke of watching Smith and Jones crack wise in their faces wears thin.

Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov

Like the inky void of space, there's really not much here, but what there is, is certainly entertaining.

San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle

Summer fluff that admits to being summer fluff, but it's no better off for admitting it...Intended as lightweight comedy, but if you think about it too much, it's not so funny.