X
- 1997
- PG-13
- Columbia Pictures
- 1 h 38 m
- 1997
- PG-13
- Columbia Pictures
- 1 h 38 m
Summary Jones is K, a veteran of a government agency so secretive no one in power knows it exists; Smith is J, a former New York cop turned rookie operative. The two dress like the FBI but better, and drive a Ford that moves like the Stealth bomber. And, when not hanging out in their bachelor pad-cum-mission control, they flex muscle like the IN...
Directed By: Barry Sonnenfeld
Written By: Lowell Cunningham, Ed Solomon
- 1997
- PG-13
- Columbia Pictures
- 1 h 38 m
- 1997
- PG-13
- Columbia Pictures
- 1 h 38 m
Men in Black
72
8.5
Where to Watch
Summary Jones is K, a veteran of a government agency so secretive no one in power knows it exists; Smith is J, a former New York cop turned rookie operative. The two dress like the FBI but better, and drive a Ford that moves like the Stealth bomber. And, when not hanging out in their bachelor pad-cum-mission control, they flex muscle like the IN...
Directed By: Barry Sonnenfeld
Written By: Lowell Cunningham, Ed Solomon
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 22 Critic Reviews
72
68% Positive
15 Reviews
15 Reviews
32% Mixed
7 Reviews
7 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 22 Critic Reviews
72
68% Positive
15 Reviews
15 Reviews
32% Mixed
7 Reviews
7 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
The snappy sci-fi hoot Men in Black...is a kind of "Independence Day" for smart people.
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.
User Score
Universal Acclaim
Based on 703 User Ratings
8.5
89% Positive
623 Ratings
623 Ratings
8% Mixed
58 Ratings
58 Ratings
3% Negative
22 Ratings
22 Ratings
User Score
Universal Acclaim
Based on 703 User Ratings
8.5
89% Positive
623 Ratings
623 Ratings
8% Mixed
58 Ratings
58 Ratings
3% Negative
22 Ratings
22 Ratings
Sonnenfeld deftly orchestrates the intricate two-part harmony, and Smith and Jones -- a powerhouse comic pair -- make it all look easy.
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.
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.
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.
Like the inky void of space, there's really not much here, but what there is, is certainly entertaining.
A science fiction comedy that was a surprise hit and created a successful franchise. It strengths are the awesome humor, hilarious ideas and concepts, special effects and of cause the actors. The Men in Black are based on a real life UFO conspiracy theory (I hesitate to use the word real life in connection with conspiracy theories). These are men in black suits looking like or claiming to be government agents who are speaking with people who have seen UFOs or other related strange things. They want that the people remain quite about the incidents and often they are threatening or bullying those people. The movie uses this idea to full potential as the Men in Black are a super secret agency that are policing aliens on earth and protecting mankind while keeping everything secret from public and government knowledge (No human except themselves on earth knows that they exist including even former members). It helps a lot that the movie takes itself not that serious and uses a lot of opportunities to make fun of (alien) conspiracy theories. It has of cause slapstick, situational humor, quirky characters and gadgets that would be excellent in superhero comic books. Some might even be to crazy or unbelievable for comic book science ;-). After the awesome set up introduction scene we follow officer James Darrell Edwards pursuing a suspect who has some strange characteristics. This is taken some interest in him and ends with a job offer wilder than what he can imagine. I like the story, set up and world building. It is a perfect mixture of seriousness and humor. If done in a bad way it would be just hilarious or even unbelievable. Here I never doubted anything and the movie was enjoyable from beginning to end. I just remembered an advice for movie makers “If you make the movie enjoyable, interesting and immersive you can get away with a lot of stuff”. I want to praise the script and ideas. This movie is so full of ideas that set up a remarkable world and lore. I will also praise the actors. Lets start with Will Smith as James Darrell Edwards. He is the new guy who enters wonderland. He is funny, entertaining and it is one of his best performances (in comedy!). Tommy Lee Jones as Kevin Brown is the stereotype of the awesome no nonsense agent. He is the yin to the yang and together they are quite enjoyable. Vincent D’Onofrio is a great antagonist. I cant spoil why but he made an impact and positive impression. For the side characters we have the excellent Frank the pug, Linda Fiorentino as (Dr.) Laurel Weaver, Rip Torn as Zed and of cause the worm guys;-). I truly enjoyed the cast. Visually the special effects were amazing for its time and aged impressively well. ILM (Industrial Light & Magic) are legends in the business for many good reasons. The soundtrack is good too. I almost had forgotten that Will Smith was also a rapper. Overall this was a pleasant surprise for my friends and me. It was one of the best movies of that year. It is carefully made as missteps would make a laughingstock out of it. I recommend it as it is refreshing, entertaining and has great humor atop of funny ideas.
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Comedy with disgusting scenes: not recommended for those who ate popcorn.
In this comedy sci-fi movie we went into the parallel world of the MIB, special agents that regulate and supervise the entry, stay and exit of aliens on our planet, ensuring that we, humans, never know about it. For this, we follow the early career of Jay (Will Smith again fraternizing with extraterrestrials after "Independence Day"), alongside his senior partner, Kay (Tommy Lee Jones, whom we never see a smile) in an effort to rid the world of a kind of giant cockroach, very upset with humans.
The film is an adaptation of the comics by Lowell Cunningham and can largely satisfy those who read it. Its directed by Barry Sonnenfeld (who has made other comedies starring Will Smith, as "Wild, Wild West") and has Ed Solomon's script. The two protagonists were well up to the challenge and their interpretations were great, with perfectly memorable comic situations. Of course, being a humorous movie, no one expected to see psychologically complex characters but, nevertheless, Jones achieved this effect by showing the most dreamer and something unfortunate side of his character, which was a positive bonus in this film. The correlation between the two actors also looks very good, which helped in the interpretation of their characters. Two equally unforgettable characters are Frank, the talking pug (voiced by Tim Blaney) and the Worm Guys, which arise at some point and are recurring in the comics. The visual and special effects were very well and were effective but didn't wondered or surprised. However, the special effects aren't enough to make a movie. They aren't the movie, right?
Less good points? There are few, less relevant, so we can go over them. The most important or worthy of contraindication may be the existence of some repulsive scenes, with crawling insects, viscous liquids, saliva and things like that bathing the protagonists and, surely, causing vomits in some more suggestible viewers. So, this is a good film to see ... but without consumables.
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If the scenario is interesting and promising at the beginning it feels like it truly lacks in depth. 'Men In Black' could have been way more political than it actually is. All this movie does is presenting diverse species of aliens without connecting them to each other, making the lore looking even more superficial than it is. The story totally focuses on K (Tommy Lee Jones) and J (Will Smith) without adding any content but the classic 'You're the new rookie on this job and I'm the badass tired veteran' type of plot.
The acting is really poor as Tommy Lee keeps the same impassive face all along while Will Smith is okay, but still a totally stereotyped character. He can't be anything else than this street childish young man, pretentious and sometimes honestly disrespectful, trying to make his own rules on the tasks he is asked to do.
The movie claims to be a comedy but except for a few scenes that are funny by the turn of events they showcase, no actor appear to be really funny. 'Men In Black' perfectly stays in the between of being childish and aiming to a teenager public. According to me they underestimated the opportunity of crafting a marvelous universe by giving more place to aliens rather than to focus on a human paranormal organization. There are a impressive and numerous amount of incoherent scenes covering the stupidity of some of the characters' acts. The villain of the movie is disgusting as they tried to make him the most repelling they could to underline his badness. The climax is very predictable and as boring as unsurprising. The only moment it could have been more emtional is when K makes his special demand to J at the end but the movie regrettably fails at making it a great scene between all of these other so-called funny ones.
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I don't care for Will Smith, as he is WAY over the top with his "street cred" attitude in every single show or movie I have ever seen him in. I don't get it. He is simply not nearly bad ass enough to have that much ego. Further, MIB movie contains the all too familiar cranky, veteran partner in Tommy Lee Jones who strikes me as just a crotchety old man throughout the whole thing. Great for kids, maybe, but MIB will likely not date well, so the longevity it will have with even the 13 and under demographic remains to be seen.
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Production Company
Columbia Pictures,
Amblin Entertainment,
Parkes/MacDonald Image Nation
Release Date Jul 2, 1997
Duration 1 h 38 m
Rating PG-13
Tagline Protecting the earth from the scum of the universe
Awards
Academy Awards, USA
• 1 Win & 3 Nominations
Golden Globes, USA
• 1 Nomination
Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA
• 3 Wins & 8 Nominations
