Men in Black [Blu-ray] [Includes Digital Copy]

Director: Barry Sonnenfeld Barry Sonnenfeld

Overview

Aliens are among us and it is up to the brave men and women of the top secret Division 6, a part of the U.S. Immigration and Nationalization Service, to make sure that they are not here illegally. The mysterious department's base of operations is located beneath New York City and special agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) is one of their best agents. He is first seen dealing with an alien he picks out of a truck of illegal Mexican immigrants trying to sneak across the border in a truck. After the capture, he employs a special memory erasing device on the many witnesses. Meanwhile, a hip and supercool New York City cop (Will Smith) pursues a criminal in a spectacular chase sequence that ends with a death and leaves the officer with the chilling realization that he has had an alien encounter. Out in the country, the body of abusive and slobby farmer Edgar (Vincent D'Onofrio) is awkwardly comandeered by an insectisoid alien who has come to steal the priceless Galaxy Diamond from a rival living in Queens. Shortly thereafter, the cop is selected to become a member of Division 6 and is teamed up with K. Shedding all traces of his former identity, the ex-officer becomes Agent J and becomes intimately acquainted with a bizarre world he never knew existed. Once trained, he and K must somehow find Edgar before he uses the stolen galaxy gem to destroy the world. Presented in a poker-faced manner befitting its comic book series roots, Men in Black, is a literate spoof imbued with the same type of sly, surrealistic and sharp satirical humor that characterized former Coen Brothers cinematographer-turned director Barry Sonnenfeld's "Addams Family" films and the John Travolta vehicle Get Shorty.

Product Details

Release Date:	05/01/2012
UPC:	0043396399181
Original Release:	1997
Rating:	PG-13
Source:	SONY PICTURES HOME ENTERTAINMT
Sound:	[Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	1:38:00
Sales rank:	25,486

Special Features

Extended/Alternative Scenes; Visual and Audio Commentaries; Galleries; Trivia Game; Ask Frank The Pug

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Tommy Lee Jones	Kay
Linda Fiorentino	Laurel
Will Smith	Jay
Vincent D'Onofrio	Edgar
Rip Torn	Zed
Tony Shalhoub	Jeebs
Siobhan Fallon Hogan	Beatrice(as Siobhan Fallon)
Mike Nussbaum	Gentle Rosenburg
Jon Gries	Van Driver
Sergio Calderón	Jose
Carel Struycken	Arquillian
Fredric Lehne	INS Agent Janus(as Fredric Lane)
Richard Hamilton	Dee
Kent Faulcon	1st Lt. Jake Jensen
Patrick Breen	Mr. Redgick
Becky Ann Baker	Mrs. Redgick
John Alexander	Mikey
Keith Campbell	Perp
Sean Whalen	Passport Officer
Harsh Nayyar	News Vendor
Ken Thorley	Zap-Em Man
Willie C. Carpenter	Police Inspector
Peter Linari	Tow Truck Driver
Tim Blaney	Frank the Pug
Mark Setrakian	Rosenberg Alien
Michael Willis	Cop in Morgue
Fredric Lane	INS Agent Janus
Sergio Calderon	Actor
Siobhan Fallon	Actor

Technical Credits

Barry Sonnenfeld	Director
Steven Spielberg	Executive Producer
Laurie MacDonald	Producer
Walter F. Parkes	Producer
Industrial Light & Magic	Special Effects
Peter Kurland	Sound/Sound Designer
Cinovation Studios	Special Effects
Industrial Light and Magic	Special Effects
VisionArt Design & Animation	Special Effects
XFX Images	Special Effects
Rick Baker	Special Effects

Editorial Reviews

Paranoia was never this much fun. Everyone from weathermen to unwashed dirt farmers is a potentially murderous space alien in this science-fiction comedy that mixes laughs with fast-paced action and spectacular special effects. Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith shine as a straight-as-an-arrow special agent and a fast-talking NYPD cop who form an unlikely partnership to rid the earth of extraterrestrial intruders. As imaginative and absurd as the comic-book series that inspired it, Men in Black is an entertaining send-up of self-important sci-fi flicks -- a blockbuster action film that delivers all the expected thrills while managing to revel in its own silliness. The limited-edition two-DVD set is a stellar package with "visual commentaries" from the director and stars, the Men in Black music video, storyboard and photo galleries, and several scenes with multiple angles.

Icky, squishy and goofy, Men In Black managed to turn science-fiction comedy into major box office returns during 1997. It also managed to turn Will Smith into a superstar -- considered possible after his performance in Independence Day, but not yet market-tested. Tommy Lee Jones is the stabilizing factor here, both as an experienced character actor and in character as veteran alien enforcement agent K. Men In Black is more tightly plotted that it may seem at first sight -- the film begins with rapid movement and closes with even more rapid movement, packing the intervening 98 minutes with dialog, action, gags, and effects to the point that any moment of calm comes across as almost intolerable. Smith is allowed to be periodically frenetic, goggling in awe or mugging in outrage as Jones, poker-faced and relaxed, overuses the Neuralyzer, a device that erases memory.

While the film's effects are worth seeing (even when some of them involve copious amounts of goo), the core of the film is the partnership of J (Smith) and K (Jones), and how it resolves. The fun of this is watching veteran intergalactic agent K shake the kid down; J goes from being a tough urban cop to being lost in his own sense of wonder as his new reality takes hold, a process that helps to build affectionate regard in K, whose final decision can be seen as being influenced by the character of his new partner. This is certainly a fun film to watch as it gallops along, doing both expected and unexpected things. Jones and Smith work together beautifully, while Linda Fiorentino is just perfect as Laurel, a coroner who eventually resolves the confusion K generates in her with his, as J calls it, "little flashy thing." —All-Movie Guide

Steven E. McDonald

Because of its extensive ad campaign and huge box-office grosses, some viewers may be surprised at the comparatively small scale of this fun little science-fiction comedy. In fact, most of the reason the film works as well as it does is not the special-effects aspect, which is relatively modest, but the chemistry between its two leads. Tommy Lee Jones' wonderful deadpan delivery works as a perfect counterpoint to Will Smith's often frantic energy, and both actors are a joy to watch. The alien monsters are mostly of the cute and cuddly variety, making it more suitable for children than most violent alien epics of recent years, and it's so much fun that it's one of the rare films which actually raises hopes for a sequel. —All-Movie Guide

Robert Firsching

A witty and sometimes surreal sci-fi comedy, Men in Black is a wild knuckleball of a movie...

Variety