Viewed in
1997 (3), 1998, 2002, 2011
Formats
Movie theater, VHS, DVD, HDTV
Premise
Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones star as agents of the Men In Black. An organisation who deals with aliens on Earth. Based on a comic book.
Loved
Quirky alien humor.
Liked
Chemistry between Smith and Jones.
Thoughts
I adored this film when i was young. Watching it now, I'm surprised by how well it still holds up.
My favorite part was the wry, satirical sense of humor about the alien movie genre. The gags were inventive and unexpected, while Smith and Jones were great at playing the brash noob versus grizzled veteran/flamboyant black versus square white jokes off of each other. Flanking them were funny performances by Rip Torn, Tony Shalhoub, and a very leggy Linda Fiorentino. An unknown David Cross had a small part. Bad guys tend to get the best parts, and Vincent D'Onofrio knocked his role out of the park.
Director Barry Sonnenfeld kept the pace brisk, and a clean, slick look for the MIB. Aliens were unusual and quirky. Giant kudos to makeup maestro Rick Baker for some really cool designs. And everything just got cooler with Danny Elfman's jazz and electronic-infused score.
Sadly the last act was a bit of a letdown, as it eschewed the oddball sense of humor for a CGI/explosions-laden ending. Another flaw was the computer graphics. This aspect did not age well, and it was very obvious that artists had not mastered lighting when incorporating digital effects and aliens.
Despite some outdated visuals and not-so-interesting ending, I was relieved to find out Men In Black was still very re-watchable thanks to smart writing and funny acting.
What I would change
Made the third act smarter.
