Review of Men in Black (1934) by Ryan M — 11 Jun 2012

***1/2 out of ****.

As humans, we assume that we are alone on this earth, but we are wrong. Extraterrestrials hop from planet to planet, and eventually they will land on ours. More than likely, they'll choose to stay. Some are peaceful and some are hostile. For the latter group, we have a top secret organization known as the Men in Black; an agency which is practically untouchable that consists of men in black suits. They work behind the scenes while the human race continues to thrive; they fend off aliens, remove the somewhat civilized ones from our society (since a lot of them happen to be particularly good at "blending in"), and prevent large-scale invasions from happening. Wherever there is an alien looking for trouble - or just an alien at all - the men in black are there as well. And as for anyone else who is there, well, their memories are erased by a small metallic neuralyzer with a red square at the top that communicates its powers through the naked eye and to the brain. This is how the men in black have continued to remain under wraps for all this time. Nobody knows where or who they are. There's but a single catch to recruitment; and that is that the person being recruited will have their name and their identity erased from history. To just about everyone outside of the agency, they do not exist; but I suppose this is for the better.

Enter Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones), one of the men in black, who has been a part of the agency for a while now. His former partner has just retired after an incident on the Mexican border that opens the film, and he must find a new partner to fill in for his old one. That is where James Darrell Edwards (Will Smith), a young police officer, comes in. We first see him as he is chasing a strange man through the streets of Manhattan. The end of the road is at the top of a building, where the man purposely allows himself to fall backwards onto the street below, but not before uttering a few words pertaining to the destruction of our world as we know it. Next thing he knows, James is talking to Agent K; who hears almost instantly about the street chase and is intrigued to know more. After their meeting, James has his memory hijacked by the neuralyzer and is told by K to show up at the MIB headquarters the next day. He does so, and finds out that he is a part of a group assembled by K himself to determine who is most fit to be his partner. Of course, James impresses in rather unconventional ways; and lands himself a spot as the organization's newest agent. His name is reduced to a single latter, J.

Meanwhile, a member of an alien race that looks almost identical to cockroaches is at war with several others over an intergalactic object known as The Galaxy. One of these aliens comes to earth and takes over the body (and skin, and brain) of a farmer named Edgar (Vincent D'Onofrio). The alien - known simply as The Bug - wants the Galaxy so that it can restore its space-ship and hit the proverbial "play" button on the in-coming invasion. But the Galaxy lies on a chain on the neck of a pet cat (whose owner happens to be an alien of an opposing race), and The Bug only keeps making its own problems. However, J and K will have something to say about his plans by the end of the day; armed with futuristic weapons, a kick-ass car that can transform, and plenty of other quirky gadgets at their disposal.

"Men in Black" is a very clever spin on the whole alien invasion genre that manages to be better than most of the other lackluster entries. It has all the fancy special effects and meticulously designed aliens that those have, but it also has the charm and humor that they lack. It never takes itself too seriously, and director Barry Sonnenfeld clearly wants us in on all the fun he was having while making the film. There are some ingenious post-modern parables between the plot and real-life "aliens"; hence, the racial tensions in America. The film does not force-feed these elements, and they only serve as side themes, but its better off that way in my opinion. What Sonnenfeld is focused on is fun, and he delivers that in wholesome doses. First off, flawless casting. Smith and Jones make a pitch-perfect dynamic duo; and their supporting actors back them up quite a bit. Rip Torn plays Zed, the head of the MIB organization; there's a lady who works at the city morgue (Linda Fiorentino); Tony Shalhoub plays a illegal weapons-dealing alien with a regenerating head. The human characters are mostly typical, but there's energy in every performance. Now, on to the aliens. They are the work of famed make-up artist Rick Baker, who is a crafty hand at brining whacked-out creatures and aliens to the screen. Here, you have a bag full of goodies; twig-like bug aliens that pour the men in black's coffee, little big-brained aliens that operate machine-like human heads (they disguise themselves underneath them), and ugly as all hell giant bugs.

I laughed a lot and was consistently entertained. There is some really good filmmaking going on here; the camerawork is inventive, the effects are pretty damn spectacular (well, for their time), and the humor is off-kilter. Some of it feels dated, just like the special effects. But you know, most of it still works. For instance, an infant squid alien projectile vomiting right into Will Smith's face never gets old. It's gross but it's also sort of charming, if you catch my drift. "Men in Black" is a smart, smooth, hip, exciting piece of pure popcorn entertainment; with enough aliens and action to satisfy any genre buff. It mixes science fiction with action with comedy, and the results are fascinatingly good. If you are to approach it, ask yourself what entertainment means. To me, it simply means "Men in Black"; in this case, at least. To others, it might mean "Independence Day" (which also starred Will Smith, and was also quite fun). The two crowds can merge for this particular cinematic event. The appeal isn't just universal; it's intergalactic. Sonnenfeld and his crew take the alien invasion genre, put some black shades on it, and - as Will Smith's character Agent J says - make "these" look good.