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Men in Black (1997)

A review by Damian Cannon.
Copyright © Movie Reviews UK 1997
A comedy based on the idea that aliens already live among us, merely looking and acting a bit strangely, Men in Black makes the best of its meagre plot. Somewhere in the United States, presumably near to the Mexican border, a truck loaded with illegal immigrants motors along. Wary of discovery by border cops, the driver's heart sinks when he catches sight of a roadblock. The game's up and he knows it, being a familiar face to the patrol. However, just as the assorted hopefuls are being lined up, a black sedan barrels to a halt. Disgorging the black-suited figures of Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) and Agent D (Richard Hamilton), they rapidly assess the situation and airily dismiss the cops. Browsing the parade, K picks out a mumbling oldster and leads him into the trees. Shielded from view, Kay punctures his body to reveal Mikey (John Alexander) cowering inside. A well-known perpetrator, it looks as though K and D are after a different sort of alien altogether.

Back in Manhattan, NYPD officer James Edwards (Will Smith) manages to corner a suspect and proceeds to cuff him. Unfortunately the suspect is a bit of a handful, first pulling out a mysterious weapon (which vaporises when broken), then leaping over James' head and cantering down the street. In a remarkable chase, which sees the target leap over bridge railings and scale tall buildings, the end comes on a rooftop. Much to James' consternation, instead of giving up the stranger jumps from the parapet, after prophesying that the world is about to end. The very next day, K pays James a visit, intending to straighten him out and uncover the circumstances of the tragedy. Curiously though, instead of erasing James' memory, after extracting all that he needs, K decides to see if he'd make a useful MIB recruit.

Directed to the unremarkable Tunnel Authority building by K, James finds himself tossed (without explanation) into a bunch of over-stuffed hotshots. Since everyone else seems to have a bar of steel for a spine and the standard military grimace, James sticks out like a sore thumb. For the first test, Agent Z (Rip Torn) gets them concentrating on a meaningless exam, while K observes their reactions from behind mirror glass. Obviously someone likes James, because he soon gets selected by K and offered the job of, essentially, intergalactic customs officer. Understandably reluctant to entertain K's delusions any longer, James turns him down flat; after all, there can't really be any aliens, can there? Well, judging by the rowdy, drunken, crazy insect-things serving coffee, it's time for some re-assessment. Thus James becomes Agent J, an anonymous and unknown rookie.

A tongue-in-cheek ride of outer-space technology, protoplasmic aliens and witty retorts, Men in Black succeeds because it is simply very funny. Working from the excellent premise that Earth is a kind of neutral zone for extra-terrestrial refugees, most of whom wind up in Manhattan, an entire sub-culture takes shape. The MIB's job is to check out the new arrivals and monitor their status. Many aliens take human form and ordinary jobs, which explains a few of the taxi-drivers, while some become famous (Elvis and Sylvester Stallone for example). The public are kept in the dark, via judicious use of memory-erasing devices, while the supermarket tabloids have actually got their facts right. Even better, to maintain their funds the MIB license velcro and microwave oven technology from their off-world chums. Endowed with such a magnificence of detail, it's thus of little importance that the script has no significant depth. It's the usual story of saving the planet to a deadline, which is all that you need to know. Men in Black refuses to give you the chance to notice this superficiality while you're watching though, yet afterwards it just doesn't matter.

Similar in spirit to Mars Attacks!, Men in Black goes one better with its inspired teaming of Smith and Jones. The latter plays his role as a burnt-out and cynical long-serving MIB member arrow straight. Barely cracking a smile throughout, his deadpan delivery sets up Smith perfectly. An utter contrast, Smith is cocky, naive and blessed with great timing. Everything seems to amaze him, yet he always manages to rise to the occasion. Linda Fiorentino (Dr. Laurel Weaver) and Rip Torn do well in what are essentially bit parts, created more as catalysts of the Smith-Jones chemistry than as characters in their own right. Perhaps the greatest accolade should go to Vincent D'Onofrio however, for a stunning performance as the bug inhabiting Edgar. Every movement and word is a bitter struggle, a dance of jerky stanzas and limbs that refuse to obey orders. It's inspiring merely to watch D'Onofrio stagger around, despite the fact that he doesn't make much of an assassin.

A definite surprise with Men in Black is that while the special effects are imaginative and effective, Barry Sonnenfeld prevents them from dominating. Instead a whole range of tentacle waving, body-changing, bizarre life forms are consigned to the background, adding to the richness of the film rather than distracting from the actors. Even waves of neat devices, like ray-guns and a rocket car, fail to intrude on the Smith-Jones double act. With knowing humour, they hog the foreground and effortlessly carry the movie. It's kind of ironic really, given that the MIB are meant to blend in, with agents never being noticed except as the shadows that operate on the margins of society. So, add in another fine Danny Elfman score, some rapid editing and a bunch of sight gags, then shake vigorously to get a winner. No more than a light-hearted romp, Men in Black doesn't get ideas above its station; that's its secret.

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