Men In Black

Men In Black (1997)

Image From IMDB

Thousands of Aliens already live amongst us, some you might already know, like a neighbour, a teacher, a celebrity. And, they’re all monitored and kept in check by a secret organisation whose job it is to police these aliens, make sure you’re never aware of their existence. They’re the Men in Black… What a great premise.

Men in Black is an immensely fun comedy movie, leaning more towards Mars Attacks than Independence Day in its tone and presentation. It’s playful, stylish, and has some great world building within the workings of the universe, the outrageous weaponry, and the alien designs.

It’s one of those concepts that works exactly how it’s meant to. It’s a fish out of water story about Will Smiths character Jay, who is brought into this bizarre world and mentored by Kay (Tommy Lee Jones) He learns about the insanity as we do. We laugh together. There’s a moment where Jay help an alien give birth to a squid baby and Kay asks all in seriousness whether any of that seemed unusual to him. The humour works because of the fish out of water device this film is set up to be. It’s why the sequels all failed to impress, because by that point, we know what Men in Black is.

But, the first Men in Black really does impress. It’s a funny movie from start to finish with plenty of the humour aimed at the punchbag aliens. We gleefully watch as their heads are shot off and regrown, or witness them acting weird within their funny designs. At no point does this movie want you to take it seriously. It’s here to entertain you.

You can read the subtext of the film potentially being about immigration, or the inner workings of a private national security that we’ll never be privy too, or you can enjoy Tommy Lee Jones telling you he’s going to get his gun back before being devoured by a giant cockroach while Will stamps on smaller ones and asks whether he just killed a cousin. There’s stuff under the hood, but by and large, the movie is fluffy entertainment.

Will Smith is Will Smith, doing what he did best during this period, while Tommy Lee Jones is easily the stand out performance as Kay. His dry humour and facial expressions get me every time. As someone not known for being funny, he can make you laugh way too easily.

It’s a fun comedy action film. Light-hearted, and with a little soul to it as Kay and Jay form a friendship. It’s a snapshot of its time, but also has some nice pop culture moments and world building to it. Maybe down the years the movie has been a little lost, but it’s still such an easy watch, and one I'd recommend going back to every now and then when you want to switch your brain off and smile.