Men in Black (1997)

Director:

Barry Sonnenfeld

Writers (WGA):

Lowell Cunningham (comic)
Ed Solomon (screen story)

Release Date:

2 heinäkuu 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Protecting the earth from the scum of the universe

Plot:

Two men who keep an eye on aliens in New York City must try to save the world after the aliens threaten to blow it up.

Plot Keywords:

Alien | Men In Black | Bug | New York City | Technology

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 17 wins & 28 nominations

Cast

Tommy Lee Jones	...	Kay
Will Smith	...	N.Y.P.D Ofcr. James Darrel Edwards III / Jay
Linda Fiorentino	...	Laurel
Vincent D'Onofrio	...	Edgar
Rip Torn	...	Chief Zed
Tony Shalhoub	...	Jack Jeebs
Siobhan Fallon	...	Beatrice
Mike Nussbaum	...	Gentle Rosenburg the Arquillian Jeweler
Jon Gries	...	Nick the Van Driver
Sergio Calderón	...	Jose
Carel Struycken	...	Arquillian
Fredric Lehne	...	INS Agent Janus (as Fredric Lane)
Richard Hamilton	...	D
Kent Faulcon	...	1st Lt. Jake Jensen
John Alexander	...	Mikey

Also Known As:

MIB (USA) (promotional abbreviation)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for language and sci-fi violence.

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR | DTS | SDDS (8 channels)

Certification:

Denmark:11 | Iceland:12 | Netherlands:AL (1999 video rating) | Australia:PG (re-rating on appeal) (rejected) | UK:PG (cut) | Philippines:PG-13 | South Africa:10V | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Brazil:12 | Canada:PG | Chile:TE | Finland:K-12 | France:U | Germany:12 | Ireland:12 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:11 | Peru:PT | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:12 | Spain:7 | Sweden:11 | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

54 Macdougal Street, Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Amblin Entertainment

Trivia:

In the scene where K takes J through the arrivals and customs area, there is an alien father and son. The actress who played the father is Debbie Lee Carrington, who went on to play Mini Mimi on "The Drew Carey Show" (1995), while the son was played by Verne Troyer, who went on to play Mini Me in Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999).

Goofs:

Errors in geography: In the end where the camera zooms away from Manhattan to the galaxy, the camera zooms from a location near the center of the Milky Way. According to most scientists, earth is actually located on one of the galaxy's "arms".

Quotes:

[first lines]
Nick the Van Driver: Goddamn bugs!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Stargate SG-1: Wormhole X-Treme! (#5.12)" (2001)

Soundtrack:

Men In Black

Fast moving science fiction comedy.

This movie was really fun to watch the first time I saw it in theaters, upon subsequent viewings, however, it loses its luster. Still though, it is still a fun movie to watch. Unlike the sequel which rushes us through the story, this one takes a bit more time developing the characters even though it is only about ten minutes longer. Both Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith are very good and funny, especially Smith because he is the new guy so he is seeing all the weird aliens and such for the first time. This is also something missing from the sequel. In the end though the reason I probably like this one so much is that it sort of reminds me of a Ghostbuster movie, and seeing as how we will most likely never see another sequel to that movie it is nice to see a movie sort of like it in that they are keeping tabs and hunting aliens rather than ghosts. The pug dog scene is funny, and the dog is not over used as in the sequel, and there is also a funny scene where Will Smith must deliver an alien baby...their main objective in this one is to track down an alien insect that has hijacked the skin of a guy and is trying to find a universe. If he succeeds the Earth is destroyed, of course Tommy Lee's character is so calm about the whole situation that you feel you have nothing to worry about. So for a funny movie that has great scenes of Will Smith training and becoming a Man in Black watch this film and do yourself a favor and skip part two...not that it was entirely bad, I liked it okay, but it just seems like an unnecessary sequel.