"Men in Black" is a black comedy. It stars Tommy Lee Jones as a member of a quasi-government agency that monitors and occasionally tangles with the aliens among us. You may not have been aware of it, but for decades now aliens from all over the galaxy have been on earth, although most of them are in Manhattan. Jones recruits energetic cop Will Smith, whose performance is much more winning than in "Independence Day", the last time Smith got the best of trouble-making aliens.
Smith and Jones get to dress in cool black suits, drive an impressive car that definitely does not have a Ford engine, and fire small weapons that pack an enormous punch. It's all in good fun, and their job is made easier in that most of the aliens are OK. As Jones says, "they're just trying to make a living like the rest of us." By the way, "Men in Black" reveals that Sylvestor Stallone is an alien. I knew it!
But there's a bad apple in every lot. An alien
labeled "the bug" crash-lands on Earth and begins
a vendetta against a rival alien race,
threatening life on Earth as we know. Smith and
Jones are on the case. Linda Fiorentino, looking
lovely but out of place, enters the story as a
morgue doctor. Aliens dead or alive don't seem to
upset her much.
While often entertaining and even funny, I can't
give "Men in Black" a high grade. Smith and Jones
are just fine and are given some good lines, but
there is a cartoonish feel to the story, and the
depth just isn't there. Perhaps it would help if
the aliens' characters were fleshed out, or if
Fiorentino had a credible character, or if the
agents had family members who were endangered.
Anything that would create conflict, drama or
tension. A final complaint is the villain is a
clumsy, mumbling clod that doesn't inspire fear,
loathing, laughs or even interest. No wonder the
story focuses on the derring-do of the agents.
Smith's training is limited to a one-hour tryout,
surprising given his level of responsibility.
So, if you want to see a black comedy, rent "Army
of Darkness" instead. It is funnier, and has more
gore and violence that is key to the genre.
(50/100)
DVDS. For his fifth effort as a feature-film director, one-time cinematographer {$Barry Sonnenfeld} brought his cartoonish visual style and darkly hum...More at DeepDiscount.com
Men in Black follows the exploits of agents Kay (Tommy Lee Jones) and Jay (Will Smith), members of a top secret organization established to monitor an...More at Buy.com
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2010 Shopping.com, Inc.