Men in Black
Academy Award × 1
Rent/Purchase
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.
What critics thought
Men in Black landed as a crowd-pleasing summer hit, with most critics charmed by Smith and Jones's chemistry, Rick Baker's creature designs, and Barry Sonnenfeld's offbeat visual style. The sharpest disagreement was over staying power: admirers found it bracingly smart and self-aware, while skeptics — including some who enjoyed the opening act — felt the film burned through its best ideas early and coasted on attitude and cool once the plot kicked in.
“a smart, funny and hip adventure film in a summer of car wrecks and explosions”
Gene Siskel·Chicago Tribune
“doesn't manage to sustain this level of inventiveness, delight and surprise throughout the remaining two-thirds of the picture.”
Todd McCarthy·Variety
“Men in Black celebrates the triumph of attitude over everything else – plausibility, passion, any sense that what we're watching actually matters. The aliens, for all their slimy visual zest, aren't particularly scary or funny (they aren't allowed to become characters), and so the joke of watching Smith and Jones crack wise in their faces quickly wears thin.”
Owen Gleiberman·Entertainment Weekly
Genres
Action, Adventure, Comedy, Science Fiction
Cast & Crew
DirectorBarry Sonnenfeld
StarringTommy Lee Jones, Will Smith, Linda Fiorentino, Vincent D'Onofrio, Rip Torn
ComposerDanny Elfman
Men in Black
Academy Award × 1
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.
What critics thought
Men in Black landed as a crowd-pleasing summer hit, with most critics charmed by Smith and Jones's chemistry, Rick Baker's creature designs, and Barry Sonnenfeld's offbeat visual style. The sharpest disagreement was over staying power: admirers found it bracingly smart and self-aware, while skeptics — including some who enjoyed the opening act — felt the film burned through its best ideas early and coasted on attitude and cool once the plot kicked in.
“a smart, funny and hip adventure film in a summer of car wrecks and explosions”
Gene Siskel·Chicago Tribune
“doesn't manage to sustain this level of inventiveness, delight and surprise throughout the remaining two-thirds of the picture.”
Todd McCarthy·Variety
“Men in Black celebrates the triumph of attitude over everything else – plausibility, passion, any sense that what we're watching actually matters. The aliens, for all their slimy visual zest, aren't particularly scary or funny (they aren't allowed to become characters), and so the joke of watching Smith and Jones crack wise in their faces quickly wears thin.”
Owen Gleiberman·Entertainment Weekly
Genres
Action, Adventure, Comedy, Science Fiction
Cast & Crew
DirectorBarry Sonnenfeld
StarringTommy Lee Jones, Will Smith, Linda Fiorentino, Vincent D'Onofrio, Rip Torn
ComposerDanny Elfman
Rent/Purchase