Men in Black «««½
PG-13, 98m. 1997
Cast & Credits: Tommy Lee Jones (Agent K), Will Smith (Agent J), Linda Fiorentino (Dr. Laurel Weaver), Vincent D’Onofrio (Edgar), Rip Torn (Zed). Screenplay by Ed Solomon. Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld.
Last fall, NBC aired a science fiction show as part of its “Saturday Night Thrillogy.” The series, called Dark Skies, dealt with alien parasites who were involved in a variety of government cover-ups from the JFK Assassination to the Roswell Incident.
The show was not a ratings success and was canceled after one season. Part of the reason why, other than the fact one cult show already deals with conspiracies called The X-Files (1993), was because the series’ creators did what everyone else in America does when it comes to cover-ups. They take these notions to the extreme thinking they really did happen.
Conspiracies shouldn’t be taken seriously. They are just endless, entertaining speculation which is what Men in Black does what Dark Skies didn’t. The science fiction comedy, directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, makes fun of such ridiculous notions which have played upon society’s paranoia.
In Men in Black, the fact the humans and sometimes even man’s best friend are really aliens and insects in disguise is much more convincing, as opposed to Dark Skies’ premise which had perpetrators like Lee Harvey Oswald and Jack Ruby being controlled by mind altering parasites.
“A thousand years ago everybody knew that the earth was the center of the universe,” says Agent Kay (Tommy Lee Jones) who is busy convincing his skeptical partner, Agent Jay (Will Smith), of such theories. “Five hundred years ago, they knew it was flat. Fifteen minutes ago, you knew we humans were alone on it. Imagine what you’ll know tomorrow.”
When the government sponsored but underfunded and underground organization needs help in their investigations, they don’t read the daily newspapers like The New York Times. They buy tabloid gossip magazines like The Star.
“Best damn investigative reporting on the planet,” Agent Kay says. “Go ahead and read The New York Times. Sometimes they get lucky.”
The plot has the two agents investigating the arrival of a temperamental alien bug named Edgar (Vincent D’Onofrio) who is in search of an artifact which will destroy the universe.
If MIB; the abbreviated title the film’s studio, Columbia Pictures, has bestowed on it, has any weaknesses, it is a lot like so many other buddy films released over the past few years. It is another movie where the experienced serious, overly stressed out partner is paired-up with a more hip, down-to-earth individual.
What makes the film work is the way Jones and Smith play off one another. One example is the scene where Jay handles a pregnancy only to be grabbed by one of the alien mother’s many tentacles and tossed up and down on the station wagon until she gives birth to what resembles a squid. All the while, Kay is questioning the father ten feet away taking scant notice.
This is the kind of odd pairing that’s gotten audiences hooked on movies like the Lethal Weapon (1987-1992) series. They may be short on plot but they’re always big on laughs and action and sometimes that goes a long way.
Men in Black is also unique. Unlike, the other major summer movies this year that were supposed to have impressed audiences with action and special effects, MIB not only lived up to its hype but had a plot.
Too bad those long, cylindrical shaped “neuralyzers” the “Men in Black” used to make people forget about past events aren’t available today. Seeing such big budget disappointments the past month like The Lost World: Jurassic Park and Batman & Robin made me wish I owned one.
©7/2/97
PG-13, 98m. 1997
Cast & Credits: Tommy Lee Jones (Agent K), Will Smith (Agent J), Linda Fiorentino (Dr. Laurel Weaver), Vincent D’Onofrio (Edgar), Rip Torn (Zed). Screenplay by Ed Solomon. Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld.
The show was not a ratings success and was canceled after one season. Part of the reason why, other than the fact one cult show already deals with conspiracies called The X-Files (1993), was because the series’ creators did what everyone else in America does when it comes to cover-ups. They take these notions to the extreme thinking they really did happen.
Conspiracies shouldn’t be taken seriously. They are just endless, entertaining speculation which is what Men in Black does what Dark Skies didn’t. The science fiction comedy, directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, makes fun of such ridiculous notions which have played upon society’s paranoia.
In Men in Black, the fact the humans and sometimes even man’s best friend are really aliens and insects in disguise is much more convincing, as opposed to Dark Skies’ premise which had perpetrators like Lee Harvey Oswald and Jack Ruby being controlled by mind altering parasites.
“A thousand years ago everybody knew that the earth was the center of the universe,” says Agent Kay (Tommy Lee Jones) who is busy convincing his skeptical partner, Agent Jay (Will Smith), of such theories. “Five hundred years ago, they knew it was flat. Fifteen minutes ago, you knew we humans were alone on it. Imagine what you’ll know tomorrow.”
When the government sponsored but underfunded and underground organization needs help in their investigations, they don’t read the daily newspapers like The New York Times. They buy tabloid gossip magazines like The Star.
“Best damn investigative reporting on the planet,” Agent Kay says. “Go ahead and read The New York Times. Sometimes they get lucky.”
The plot has the two agents investigating the arrival of a temperamental alien bug named Edgar (Vincent D’Onofrio) who is in search of an artifact which will destroy the universe.
If MIB; the abbreviated title the film’s studio, Columbia Pictures, has bestowed on it, has any weaknesses, it is a lot like so many other buddy films released over the past few years. It is another movie where the experienced serious, overly stressed out partner is paired-up with a more hip, down-to-earth individual.
What makes the film work is the way Jones and Smith play off one another. One example is the scene where Jay handles a pregnancy only to be grabbed by one of the alien mother’s many tentacles and tossed up and down on the station wagon until she gives birth to what resembles a squid. All the while, Kay is questioning the father ten feet away taking scant notice.
This is the kind of odd pairing that’s gotten audiences hooked on movies like the Lethal Weapon (1987-1992) series. They may be short on plot but they’re always big on laughs and action and sometimes that goes a long way.
Men in Black is also unique. Unlike, the other major summer movies this year that were supposed to have impressed audiences with action and special effects, MIB not only lived up to its hype but had a plot.
Too bad those long, cylindrical shaped “neuralyzers” the “Men in Black” used to make people forget about past events aren’t available today. Seeing such big budget disappointments the past month like The Lost World: Jurassic Park and Batman & Robin made me wish I owned one.
©7/2/97
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