Men in Black 1997
Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld
- Action, Adventure, Comedy, Science Fiction
- 98 min
- PG-13
Protecting the Earth from the scum of the universe.
After a police chase with an otherworldly being, a New York City cop is recruited as an agent in a top-secret organization established to monitor and police alien activity on Earth: the Men in Black. Agent K and new recruit Agent J find themselves in the middle of a deadly plot by an intergalactic terrorist who has arrived on Earth to assassinate two ambassadors from opposing galaxies.
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Character
Classical in form, resolved, cool and epic.
- classical in formformally daring
- resolvedopen-ended
- cooloverwhelming
- intimateepic
- effortlessdemanding
Who loves it, who doesn't
165 profiled raters. Loved most by The Comfort Seekers; disliked most by The Provocateurs.
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“Is Tommy Lee Jones the best thing in Men in Black?”
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“Is it too cool to love?”
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“Is this Barry Sonnenfeld's best work?”
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A yes-or-no question, answered from what people wrote here, on TMDB and on Wikipedia. Never made up.
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Reviews on TMDB
Written by TMDB members; each links to the original. Not part of Curator Co.'s numbers.
- Gimlyon TMDB · Nov 20176/10
Maybe it doesn't hold up as well as you'd hoped, but both leads are actually putting in the effort in this first entry, and _Men in Black_ is still, after all these years, a bit of fun. _Final rating:★★★ - I liked it. Would personally recommend you give it a go._
Read the whole review on TMDB - Wuchakon TMDB · May 20206/10
_**Fun sci-fi comedy with Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith**_ An athletic New York City police officer (Will Smith) joins a shadowy government organization that deals with extraterrestrial interactions on Earth. Tommy Lee Jones plays his senior partner, Rip Torn the head of the agency, Vincent D'Onofrio a possessed hick and Linda Fiorentino an attractive coronor. "Men in Black" (1997) is wildly amusing in the first half, but loses its energy a bit in the last act. Nevertheless, it fills the bill for when you’re in the mood for fun & thrilling popcorn entertainment. It inspired three sequels as of this date: “Men in Black II” (2002), “Men in Black 3” (2012) and “Men in Black: International” (2019) with the last one being the only movie in the series without Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith. The film runs 1 hour, 38 minutes, and was shot in New York City & surrounding area (e.g. Jersey City), as well as Semi Valley, CA (the saucer crash sequence) and nearby Los Angeles/Culver City. GRADE: B-
Read the whole review on TMDB - Kamuraion TMDB · Aug 20207/10
Good watch, could watch again, and can recommend. This was a better movie historically than actually. It at least felt like it introduced some concepts of having aliens infiltrated Terra into the industry, even if it didn't actually. Maybe it popularized it more, but it was very good at walking the audience across that line that separates our normal Terran view to that of an integrated society. Or maybe I just love the concept of aliens on our planet that much. I definitely don't think it was the manner they took: the humor is as annoying as it is funny most of the time, and Tommy Lee Jones is just as funny as Will Smith (that's saying something, personally) as the straight man, credit to both of them. That said, they were a perfect for the movie, and all the supporting cast did wonderfully. Vincent D'Onofrio, as "Not Edgar", was probably the funniest character in the movie to me, and I don't think he was supposed to be. The "haze the rookie by leaving out vital information" bit is cliche and worn out, but that's have the jokes here. I definitely like the movie, and I love what it could have been.
Read the whole review on TMDB - Andre Gonzaleson TMDB · Jul 20238/10
Another favorite movie of mine. Aliens disguised as humans. Mmmmm sounds like real life. This movie is hilarious. I got one question, you ever flashy thing me? Lol!
Read the whole review on TMDB - CinemaSerfon TMDB · Aug 20237/10
I saw this again recently - commemorating 25 years since it's original release, and to this day I still remember the image of the little aliens with the duty-free trolley of cigarettes trying to flee Earth after we are threatened with destruction by the "Arquillian" empire with powerful weapons - who want their "galaxy" back. It falls to "K" (Tommy Lee Jones) and his streetwise, rookie colleague "J" (Will Smith) to identify then try to track down this article - and the evil beast that killed their Emperor who was carrying it - before the Imperium takes it's, literally, Earth-shattering action. There is a great dynamic between the two stars, plenty of humour to compliment the fun special effects and as we discover, loads of characters amongst the alien creatures who have been inhabiting this planet since God was a boy. The ending goes on bit, but it has stood the test of time well, and is still easily the best of this franchise.
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Cast
- Tommy Lee JonesKay
- Will SmithJay
- Linda FiorentinoLaurel
- Vincent D'OnofrioEdgar
- Rip TornZed
- Tony ShalhoubJeebs
- Siobhan Fallon HoganBeatrice
- Mike NussbaumGentle Rosenburg
- Jon GriesVan Driver
- Sergio CalderónJose
Crew
- Barry SonnenfeldDirector
- Ed SolomonScreenplay
- Donald PetermanDirector of Photography
- Danny ElfmanOriginal Music Composer
- Jim MillerEditor
- Walter F. ParkesProducer
- Laurie MacDonaldProducer
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Pairings
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Similar in taste
Closest on the same fourteen dimensions, from everything scored on Curator Co. Other media included when they land close.
Both resolved, classical in form, effortless.
Both classical in form, contemporary, resolved.
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Often watched with
Recommendations from TMDB. Opening one adds it to Curator Co.
