Will Smith Month - Men in Black (1997)

       Hey guys, Chuck here. Well, we're nearly at the end of Will Smith Month, and now it's definitely time to talk about arguably the most popular franchise that Will Smith has been a part of: Men in Black. Based on the comic book series written by Lowell Cunningham and published by Malibu Comics, which would become an imprint for Marvel Comics, this 1997 movie was directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, and starred Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith, Linda Fiorentino, Vincent D'Onofrio, Tony Shaloub, David Cross, and Rip Torn. 

        The movie focuses on a top secret government agency known as the Men in Black, or MIB for short. The MIB investigate, monitor, and police extra-terrestrial activity on the planet Earth. We meet Agent K, whose partner Agent D is ready to retire, as they investigate an alien named Mikey, who is sneaking back into the United States disguised as a Mexican immigrant. After destroying Mikey and using a standard issue device called a Neuralyzer to wipe the incident from the memories of the Border Patrol agents on scene, K neutralizes D, and we cut to Manhattan, where New York Police Officer James Edwards is chasing a perpetrator on foot. The chase leads to the roof of the Guggenheim Museum, where the perp states that the world is coming to an end, and he leaps off the roof to his death. 

      Meanwhile, in upstate New York, a farmer named Edgar has his pickup truck destroyed by a crashing flying saucer, and finds himself killed by the crafts' occupant: a Bug. The Bug then takes Edgar's skin and wears it like a human suit, and heads off to New York City to find something he's looking for. Back at the police station, Edwards goes over his report with the Captain, and is picked up by K, who takes Edwards to a pawn shop run by Jack Jeebs. Jeebs ultimately denies any knowledge of sales of bizarre weapons, after which K demands Jeebs show Edwards the "imports," and proceeds to blow off Jeebs' head, which promptly grows back. Jeebs shows Edwards the merchandise, and he identifies the weapon that was drawn on him by the perp he chased down earlier. The perp was an alien, and the weapon he bought from Jeebs was a reverberating carbonizer with mutate capacity. Outside of the store, K neutralizes Edwards, and we see the two eating at a restaurant, where K gives Edwards a business card with the address for him to go to the next day. 

          Upon arrival, Edwards is directed to the elevator, where he's led to a lower floor where several military officers are sitting, with MIB Chief Zed speaking of a series of tests that will be conducted, including a written test, and a target practice. When Zed questions Edwards' choice of target, Edwards mentions how two other targets he considered weren't any real threat, as one was exercising on a street light, and the other just had the sniffles. Meanwhile, the little girl had quantum physics books, way too advanced for a child that age, and this seemed to be the real threat in the scenario. After conferring with K, Zed leads the soldiers into another room to be neuralized, while K informs of how back in the year 1961, first contact was made with an alien race who sought to establish Earth as a politically neutral zone for intergalactic refugees without a planet. The Men in Black agrees to their terms, and covered up all evidence of the landing. Edwards is then introduced to the Worm Guys, who give K a cup of coffee. 

          Later that day, K tells of how aliens land on Earth every day, and how most are decent folk just trying to make a living. K tells Edwards that if he chooses to join, his existence will be completely erased, and he will have to sever all contact with anyone he ever knew. The next morning, Edwards returns, is introduced to the MIB facility, and some of their tech, and is then taken to suit up, while K erases his fingerprints and identity, renaming him as Agent J. K thens shows J the ropes, going after an alien named Redgick, who is trying to leave the planet with his pregnant wife, who gives birth to a newborn alien, well, squid. 

       Edgar arrives in New York, and begins stalking a jewelry shop owner named Rosenberg, following him to a restaurant, where he meets an old friend, who warns of the Bug's arrival. Edgar kills both men, and takes off with a container. J and K, meanwhile, head to Edgar's farm after reading a tip in the "hot sheets," which are just the typical supermarket tabloids like the National Enquirer, Globe, and so forth. After identifying that they're dealing with a Bug, J the K head to a local morgue, where Dr. Laurel Weaver is performing an autopsy, only to find some oddities in the deceased body of Rosenberg. J and K arrive, and J and Laurel hear the alien Rosenberg say "to prevent war, the galaxy is on Orion's belt."

      Back at MIB, Zed note's how J misheard, as a galaxy is millions of stars, and Orion's belt is just three stars. J and I are then sent to investigate Rosenberg's jewelry store, where J notes a number of pictures of his cat. After an encounter with the Bug, K and J go to meet Frank the Pug, who fills in the blanks: that the Arquillians, whose ship is in Earth's orbit, sent Rosenberg to Earth for safety, along with a weapon called the Galaxy, which is as small as a marble. J then realizes that the Galaxy is on the collar of Rosenberg's cat, Orion, and is at Laurel's morgue. The Bug arrives, takes the Galaxy AND Laurel, and drives to Queens in a taxi, heading to the saucers from the 1961 landing. 

      J and K go after him, shooting the ship down, and the Bug sheds Edgar's skin, and eats K. J then fights the Bug, squishes some little Earth bugs, and K grabs his gun from inside the But and destroys it, recovering the Galaxy. Later on, K hands J the Neuralyzer, as J is K's replacement at MIB. J neuralized K, and with Laurel, now his partner Agent L, he goes on to protect the Earth from future alien threats. 

        Okay, so first off, big kudos to Rick Baker for his designs for the aliens in this movie. Unlike some of the more generic designs we've seen in sci-fi, the aliens in Men in Black are unique in their visual aesthetic. Second, the cast, from Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith to Tony Shaloub and Rip Torn, as well as Linda Fiorentino and Vincent D'Onofrio, are all terrific in this movie. I especially loved the banter between J and K. 

        Obviously, I love this movie. Barry Sonnenfeld made a very fun, very funny sci-fi comedy, and I love it just as much as an adult as I did as a kid back in the 90's when it came out. I'm going to give Men in Black a rating of 5/5. Now, of course there are sequels, and I'll be looking at the first of those sequels, Men in Black II, this Saturday as we continue Will Smith Month. This is Chuck signing off, and I'll see you guys next time.