Review of Men in Black (1934) by James W — 03 Jan 2014

The opening follows a van driver attempting to cross the border with illegals in the back, but is stopped by patrol officers. A cocky officer forces the driver and the illegals to stand in a line and wait to be interrogated, but in comes Agent K and Agent D who take over the situation and take away one peculiar immigrant who just so happens to be an alien with gills, flappers and an enormous bulbus like body, which eventually bursts into a slimy blue mess.

If you thought the opening was weird then you haven't seen anything yet, Men In Black excels in the Alien creation department, the design and animatronics are wonderful and whenever they appear on screen you will definitely cringe or be amazed, but the real problem with Men In Black is the lack of energy and excitement, and it's desperately short on big set pieces compared to the second and third instalments, although the exploding ship crashing into the field sequence is truly worth the wait.

The pace does meander quite a lot, and the lack of soundtrack means there's a lot of silence and natural ambient, but Will Smith's chatty man nature delivers big laughs and fun, and placing Tommy Lee Jones' grumpy Agent K against Smith is a recipe for entertainment.