Film

Men in Black (1997)

Director: Barry Sonnenfeld

Movie review

From Time Out Film Guide

They're here - and they have social security numbers. Aliens are everywhere, just trying to get along like the rest of us, mostly, under the watchful eyes of an extra-governmental police agency, the Men in Black. Agent K (Jones) picks out a New York cop (Smith) to become his new partner, J, initiating him into the secrets of the universe: galactic weaponry, memory erasers and power dressing. At the same time, an unintegrated alien bug takes residence in the (loose-fitting) body of farmer D'Onofrio, with a plan that might mean curtains for the planet. Sonnenfeld's film is just good enough to remind us how lazy most blockbusters have become in the decade since Gremlins and Ghostbusters - hits with a similar hip, relaxed vibe. The personable well-paired stars make the most of a superior script by Ed Solomon ('He said the world was coming to an end.' 'Did he say when?'), and, taking eye-popping special fx in his stride, the director makes adroit use of out-of-this-world NY locations. It's so much fun, in fact, that it's almost over before you realise that you've been watching a great idea for a movie in desperate search of a plot.

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