MEN IN BLACK
A film review by David Landers
Copyright 1997 David Landers
RATING: *** 1/2 out of **** - 8.5 out of 10.0 CAST: Tommy Lee Jones (Agent Kay), Will Smith (James Edwards/Agent Jay), Linda Fiorentino (Dr. Laurel Weaver/Agent Elle), Vincent D'Onofrio (Edgar), Rip Torn (Zed) DIRECTOR: Barry Sonnenfeld CERTIFICATION: PG-13 (USA) mild violence and language YEAR OF PRODUCTION: 1997
MEN IN BLACK is an explosive mix of science fiction, action, and comedy that hits the target in every possible way. Although another alien movie, MEN IN BLACK succeeds in every way that INDEPENDENCE DAY didn't, and towers above many other movies of its type. The brilliant acting, especially by Tommy Lee Jones as Agent Kay, is also as good as it gets. Director Barry Sonnenfeld, who was behind the camera for THE ADDAMS FAMILY movies and GET SHORTY, has crafted a masterpiece.
The story behind MEN IN BLACK is just as interesting as you would want it to be. The Men in Black, or MiB, are a top-secret governmental agency that is not known to exist. The MiB are responsible for "saving the world from the scum of the universe". A though job, indeed. The film opens with a truckload of illegal aliens (the human kind) being transported across the Mexico border and into the United States. Presumably, these "aliens" are all migrant workers. That is, until the MiB show up and begin interrogating them. Agent Kay selects a particular suspicious worker and takes him away from the other local authorities to discover that he is not an illegal human alien, but a real extra-terrestrial alien. When the alien makes a run for it, Agent Kay is forced to eliminate the alien with one of the MiB's very unique weapons, and after one of the local law enforcement officers witnesses this bizarre occurrence, Agent Kay is forced to use another very unique device on them. The device, described as "out of state", eliminates the memory of anyone it is used on.
>From here, we are introduced to James Edwards, played very well by Will Smith. Edwards, a police officer, is chasing a fleeing criminal. The criminal gives a very good chase, and at one point when Edwards confronts him, the criminal pulls out a very different looking weapon that disintegrated when it hit the ground. Edwards continues to chase the very athletic criminal to the top of a building, where the criminal informs Edwards that he must let him go, because someone is after him. Edwards doesn't take this seriously, but when the criminal shows very non-human characteristics and leaps off the building, he begins to wonder.
Back at the police station, Agent Kay shows up to ask Edwards a few questions. He informs Edwards that is was, in fact, a non-human that he was chasing, and that the gun he pulled out was definitely not man-made. He has Edwards identify the gun, and asks Edwards to come to the MiB headquarters the following day.
Edwards arrives and finds that he is involved in a recruiting process, along with various other men who seem a bit more qualified than he. After goofing up for half of the time, Edwards puts on a show at the firing range, and Agent Kay notes the reason why he feels Edwards should be the man to join the MiB: he chased down the "criminal" on foot, which is something that no one is supposed to be able to do.
In the meantime, an upstate New York farm has a very close encounter. Edgar (Vincent D'Onofrio), owner of the farm, investigates a strange crash landing and is attacked by the inhabitant of the flying object, which presumes to jump inside Edgar and use his body as a human transport. The "bug", as he is called, is an intergalactic terrorist who has come to Earth to attempt to kill two ambassadors. And it up to the MiB, with newly recruited Agent Jay (formerly James Edwards) to exterminate the bug and save the planet from intergalactic war.
MEN IN BLACK delightfully combines fast-paced action with often hilarious comedy, which is usually from Will Smith, although Tommy Lee Jones opens up his comedic personality in this film. The special effects are also very well done and are not the entire source of the plot, as in another big alien film from the past summer. Screenwriter Ed Solomon, writer of SUPER MARIO BROS. and the upcoming X-MEN film, has surely struck gold with this story. All ages will enjoy MEN IN BLACK. It is an extremely fun film that you will want to see again. Although it runs a very quick and speedy 96 minutes, the entire film from beginning to end is a non-stop adventure. The ending of the film, which ties up a few loose ends for one of the main characters, is also very well done. A sequel is already being planned, so there is more to look forward to!
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