Men in Black(1997)
©1997 Matt Petras
Official Site:
www.meninblack.com
Rating: *** out of **** Length: 98 min (1:38 hours) Director: Barry Sonnenfeld Producer(s): Laurie MacDonald, Steven R. Molen, Walter F. Parkes, Graham Place, Steven Spielberg Cast: Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith, Linda Fiorentino, Vincent D'Onofrio, Rip Torn, Tony Shalhoub
Aliens!! Well, that is what this movie is about. Computer generated aliens. OK, the movie is not just about computer generated aliens. It's about computer generated aliens and a secret organization known as MIB. If one wasn't green and running around the other would not exist as it's known. The computer graphics in this movie are spectacular, they make you want to believe that aliens like the ones depicted exits. Since seeing this movie I have to agree concede that Denis Rodman is an alien, he simply has to be. Well, in all seriousness the aliens created here are not only of the monster variety but are also of the soft, squishy and cuddly kind. Just adds something of a lighter note to the movie where it could have become very dark. Along with aliens comes the humor and in a pretty decent way. J, well soon to be J, a smart ass cop(played by Will Smith) runs down what he thinks is a would-be villain and gets some attention from the MIB and K in particular. K aims to recruit our poor J, but that is not the whole point of this movie. The main duty of the MIB is to police the extra terrestrials on earth who have chosen it as a home or a refuge. That's also the main point of this movie: protect the earth from the scum of the galaxy. Some of the scum from space is awfully bad and just down right nasty. Color commentary abounds when forced to deal with alien scum and none other than Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones are there to deliver the punch. The dialogue is witty to say the least. This wittiness lets the movie flow well from scene to scene developing the characters to the extent needed for this movie. Tommy Lee Jones(as K) and Will Smith(as J) provide both the action and the comedy beautifully. The characters they play don't seem to be wrong in any way nor does their performance as them. I would have to say that K is more amusing than J, but what's one without the other. Both roles complemented each other very well and the script seemed to be written for these two actors. The story also goes deep enough to provide a proper background so the audience is not totally clueless. Altogether good performances were put in by all the cast and the director blended everything marvelously with the necessary special effects to create a good movie. A movie well worth seeing if you are up for some lighthearted and witty humor. As most movies have their good things they also have their bad things. The character development in this movie was not all that grand because it didn't need to be. But if there was more character development and if there was some development of the alien characters that might have added quite considerable to the movie. Especially the evil alien, he did need some work. Though this could have been worked on, the movie was what it proposed to be a rather shallow and witty comedy. That was achieved rather well, with some interesting commentary and observations. A movie worth a view, but keep in mind what the movie is and if you are not fond of Will Smith's form of humor then I wouldn't go.
Originally written after original release. Totally rewritten December 26, 1997
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