I first saw Men in Black several years ago when it was first released on video. I recently got the Deluxe Edition DVD of the movie. It contains two DVDs and many extras. Since the sequel will be out soon, I decided it was time to watch Men in Black again.

CAST

Tommy Lee Jones - Kay
Will Smith - James Edwards/Jay
Linda Fiorentino - Dr. Laurel Weaver
Vincent D’Onofrio - Edgar
Siobhan Fallon - Beatrice
Rip Torn - Zed
Tony Shalhoub - Jeebs

Barry Sonnenfeld - Director

Men in Black is rated PG-13 for some mild violence. There is a little swearing in the movie, but the word that rhymes with luck is never heard. The movie is about 98 minutes long. I don’t think young children should see Men in Black. There are some scenes that could scare young children.

PLOT

A man driving a truck is stopped by the INS. The back of the truck is full of illegal aliens from Mexico. Two men in black suits arrive in a black car and take over. It turns out that one of the illegal aliens is actually an alien from outer space in disguise. Kay and Dee, the two men, are taking care of Mikey, the alien, and some things go wrong. Kay then has to use his neuralizer on the INS agents.

In New York City, a police officer, James Edwards, is chasing down a suspect on foot. The suspect was really an alien, but James didn’t find that out until later. He did pick up on some things, and knew something weird was going on. Kay knew what Edwards did and was impressed. After going through some tests, Edwards becomes one of the Men in Black, a top-secret agency that monitors the aliens on Earth. Zed is in charge of the agency. Since contact was made with aliens in the 1960's, the MiB have been covering up and hiding the presence of the aliens. The aliens are everywhere, but most of them stay in New York City. Some famous actors are actually aliens. All evidence of the existence of the agents is erased. Edwards is now known as Jay.

Late at night, a spaceship crashes into a truck on a farm where Edgar and Beatrice live. Edgar isn’t too nice to his wife. He goes outside to see what happened, and is killed by the alien, who then puts on Edgar’s skin like a suit. Jay and Kay show up a bit later to investigate. They discover that the alien is a giant bug. That particular race of aliens thrives on conflicts and wars.

The giant bug in the Edgar suit heads to New York City. He is looking for something called The Galaxy. It is very important to an alien race, and if it is lost, war will break out. Edgar is trying to get it because he wants the war to happen. He kills two important aliens trying to find The Galaxy. Dr. Laurel Weaver, a medical examiner, gets involved when she does autopsies on the bodies of the aliens. Jay and Kay have to track down Edgar, find The Galaxy before a war breaks out.

**End of Plot Discussion**

I loved Men in Black. The movie was very entertaining. It is a combination of science fiction, action, and comedy. There are many strange looking aliens in the movie. Some of them are very funny looking. Jay’s reactions when he first learns about all the aliens is very funny at times. Kay is serious for the most part, but he still ends up being funny.

There is some violence in Men in Black. Some aliens are killed during the movie, and some of the deaths are rather gross. People who have weak stomachs may want to avoid this movie. I didn’t think the violence was excessive, but it could be too violent for some people. I do think the movie is too violent for young children to see. There is action throughout the whole movie, so there aren’t any boring moments.

Men in Black is mainly set in New York City, but there are a few scenes in other places. Part of the movie was filmed in and around New York City. A few scenes were set in well known locations around the city. The fact that the movie was set in a well know location makes the movie more realistic to me.

Special effects are used throughout Men in Black. Some of the aliens were puppets, some were created entirely on computers, and a combination of both was used for a few aliens. Jay and Kay use many interesting looking gadgets throughout the movie. The neuralizer is used a few times. Kay uses some other little thing to run a test that helps to identify what kind of alien crashed into Edgar’s truck. Both of them use some unique guns. Some of the sets for MiB headquarters were very interesting looking too. I think the special effects in the movie were very well done. The movie wouldn’t have worked without the special effects.

I thought that the acting was very good in Men in Black. I’ve liked Tommy Lee Jones for a while now, and I thought he was great in this movie. This is the only comedy I’ve seen him in. I thought he was very funny in some of his scenes. He wasn’t trying to be funny, but he was still very funny at times. Will Smith was believable as a man whose whole world has just been turned upside down. His character has a lot to take in and process after leaning about the MiB and all the aliens. Will Smith was very funny throughout the movie. Vincent D’Onofrio starts of playing a farmer, and then ends up being an alien bug wearing the skin of the farmer. The bug was comfortable in the suit, and he wasn’t use to moving like a human, which is shown in the way he tries to walk. D’Onofrio doesn’t have a lot of lines, but he is really good in his part. The way he moves after the bug puts on the Edgar suit is hilarious. I also really enjoyed the scene with Jeebs the pawnbroker. Kay does something rather extreme to get the information he wants from Jeebs. The rest of the cast was very good too.

CHARACTERS

Kay - He is one of the Men in Black. He has been with the agency since it was formed. He is impressed with an NYPD cop and helps to recruit him to the job. Kay is good at his job, and focused on it. At times, he seems to miss the life he could have had.

Jay - His name was James Edwards before he became one of the Men in Black. He had been a police officer on the New York force. He has to adjust to some very weird things in a short amount of time.

Zed - He is the agent in charge of the MiB. He and Kay have known each other for a long time.

Dr. Laurel Weaver - She is a medical examiner in New York City. She has some theories about aliens being on Earth. The MiB knows about her, and Kay has personally used his neuralizer on her more than once. She seems intrigued by the idea of aliens.

Edgar - He is a farmer that is nasty to his wife. He was killed by a giant bug alien. The alien then put on Edgar’s skin as a disguise. He is a nasty alien, and seems to enjoy killing.

Beatrice - Edgar’s wife. She knew something was very wrong with Edgar after he went to see what happened to his truck.

DVD EXTRAS

The Deluxe Edition of the Men in Black contains two DVDs and a lot of extras. The movie can be watched in either wide screen or standard versions.

Visual Commentary - Barry Sonnenfeld and Tommy Lee Jones talk about things related to the movie. They discuss how certain scenes were filmed and how some of the special effects were done. The commentary is very interesting. One thing they talk about is how the entire plot of the movie was changed just by two scenes being altered. Originally, the plot included another race of aliens that was after The Galaxy.

There is a teaser trailer to Men in Black II and a sneak peek of the movie.

This is a list of the rest of the special features on the Deluxe Edition Men in Black DVD.

Creating the MiB
Visual Effects Sene Deconstruction
Metamorphosis of MiB
Extended and Alternate Scenes
Art and Animation
Scene Editing Workshop
Production Photo Gallery
Meet the MiB
Talent Files
Music Video
MiB Recommend
Featurette

I really enjoyed Men in Black, and I’m looking forward to seeing the sequel. People who like science fiction mixed with comedy should enjoy this movie.

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older