Director Report Card: Barry Sonnenfeld (1997)

5. Men in Black

In the 1990s, for whatever reason, there was a renewed interests in UFOs, alien abductions, and government conspiracies revolving around them. There's no doubt a number of interesting socioeconomic reasons for this but the internet – which gave cranks and weirdos a visible place to voice their opinions – coming to prominence was doubtlessly a big one. Whatever the reason, a lot of pop culture arose to cash-in on this newfound alien fever, with “The X-Files” being the most prominent example. A less famous example was Malibu Comic's “The Men in Black.” An obscure comic book inspired by real conspiracy theories, which had morally gray agents killing witnesses and fighting various extraterrestrial/supernatural threats, it only ran for six issues. But this was enough to catch the attention of Hollywood producers. Barry Sonnenfeld, who did a good job fusing special effects with comedy and lively direction in his “Addams Family” movies, was drafted to direct. The result would be one of the icon blockbusters of the decade. 

James Edwards is a smart-mouthed New York City cop. On one fateful night, he tracks a strange witness down and sees several things he can't explain. Afterwards, a man in black calling himself Agent K tracks Edwards down. He is drafted into a secret organization that regulates extraterrestrial travel to and from Earth. They are the Men in Black and Edwards – now known as Agent J – is the latest recruit. At the same time, a highly aggressive species of alien called a Bug crash lands on Earth. He arrives to kill alien royalty and gather a rare form of energy. If the destructive bug, walking around in the skin of a farmer named Edgar, finds “the Galaxy,” Earth will be destroyed to protect the rest of the universe. It's up to Jay and Kay, still navigating their new partnership, to stop the Bug, retrieve the Galaxy, and save the world.

It's easy to see why big movie studios were attracted to the “Men in Black” premise. Once you strip away the sci-fi/comedy combo – reminiscent of “Ghostbusters” – and then in-vogue UFO angle, it's essentially a buddy cop movie. The story is built around a grizzled old officer, who is used to doing things by the book, teaming up with a younger officer who is sarcastic and plays by his own rules. While they initially butt heads, they soon grow to love and respect each other. Granted, “Men in Black” is not a direct photocopy of earlier buddy cop successes. Kay is pretty sarcastic himself, just dryer. Jay is a fish-out-of-water on the force not just because he's rebellious but because he doesn't really know the rules at all. For the variations that are made, this is still a tried-and-true formula being sold here.

What really makes “Men in Black” a success is that the sci-fi angle is not just a gimmick dressing up a familiar story. It honestly features some of my favorite examples of world-building. Much like the viewer, Jay is thrust into this strange new world. We're experiencing everything for the first time just as he is. And he's stuck knee-deep into the film's setting without much preparation. The film never explains much about the various oddball aliens glimpsed in the background or in various minor roles. They just exist and the audience is left to make-up our own theories about them, based on the peeks we get at their personalities. Moreover, an alternate world is created within our own, secret and elaborate bases and personale hiding within our pre-existing social structures. (This is certainly helped along by more excellent production design.) It feels like a totally developed and inhabited universe.

I might be more willing to buy into “Men in Black's” fictional universe because I'm an easy mark for practical creature effects. This is the movie that taught me who Rick Baker was. From the opening scene, we are introduced to some fabulous creature. Such as Mikey, a many-flippered upright being with an awfully expressive body. Or the Worm Guys, talkative non-humanoids addicted to earthly vices. Even minor creatures – a pulsating and partially translucent worm nicknamed Grouchy, the many-stalked Bob and his unpronounceable brother – are unforgettable creations. The crowning achievement in the film is the dying Arquillian prince, a beautifully life-like little alien that seems utterly alive even as its will slips away. They are all so vividly brought to life and it goes a long way to crystallizing “Men in Black's” immersive world. 

The mixture of a crowd-pleasing set-up with a beautifully created world is just part of why “Men in Black” works so well. This might be a perfectly paced movie. The opening scene immediately sets up the premise, introducing what the Men in Black do as well as establishing Kay's dilemma. We slam right into Jay's introduction, showing us what he's about and what he's capable of.  From there, we begin his descent into the MIB world. That's as strong and concise a first act as anyone could ask for and, after that, we are off to the races. “Men in Black” quickly establishes its threat and escalates tension at all the right moments. A warning shot from the Arquillians provides a tight time limit for our last act, keeping the audience invested and excited up through the end. “Men in Black” immediately sucks you in and keeps you hooked throughout its runtime. (Which, compared to most bloated modern blockbusters, runs a tight 98 minutes.)

And it's not just simple mechanics and creativity that makes “Men in Black” good. The movie is more thoughtful than it gets credit for. Early on, Kay describes Earth as “like “Casablanca” without the Nazis.” In this film, Earth is depicted as a mixing pot of countless intergalactic cultures. (It's no mistake that the movie is set in New York City, one of America's most famously multicultural metropolises.) The Men in Black allows them to live, habitat, or just visit here with minimal interference. It's heavily implied that many of the alien visitors are refugees. The Arquellian prince's human life is obviously meant to invoke a Jewish immigrant starting his own business. This is a 90 million dollar Hollywood blockbuster hat is explicitly pro-immigration. The opening scene, set at the Mexican border, makes this point all too clear. Kay lets border-crossing workers into the country because it's no big deal, when you consider everything else the planet is dealing with on a daily basis. 

That this is the movie's opinion only makes sense within its wider logic. The thematic crux of the second half is that the smallest things can hold great importance. The movie pulls back even further in its final, reality-bending seconds. On a cosmic scale, we are a little thing. Earth, and all the humans on it, are but microscopic bits of matter spiraling through a universe of infinite size. Yet we matter, yet we make a difference. (Not to mention that a microscopic galaxy as a thermodynamic power source is a bitching far-out sci-fi concept.) It's all really interesting and almost enough to make you overlook the movie's at-times fascist set-up. That human nature is unavoidably fearful and omniscient, pseudo-military forces – that can control our very memory – ultimately know what is best for us as a species. It's either complicated or really dumb, depending on where you stand.

Perhaps popcorn flicks like this aren't meant to be read too deeply into. “Men in Black” is filled with lizard-brain thrills and that's largely thanks to its brilliant cast. Will Smith was an A-lister in the making in 1997. Hot off the heels of another alien-themed blockbuster, “Men in Black” would make him a superstar. While opinions on Smiths' merits as a performer have wavered over the years, he's perfect in “Men in Black.” His smart-ass wit is frequently hilarious, best displayed in the scene where he's recruited to the MIB. His explanation for his actions on the shooting range still cracks me up. His macho bravado in some scenes would be hard-to-handle if Smith wasn't clearly playing Jay as a tough-talking rookie utterly in over-his-head. No wonder it would make Smith a mega-star.

Moreover, Smith's quick-witted retorts play fantastically off Tommy Lee Jones' Kay. Jones is not the traditional straight man. He gets plenty of great jokes to himself. Such as his tendency to undermine Jay's attempts at bad-ass posturing. Jones' dead-pan delivery of utterly absurd moments, like tough-talking a dog or delivering the punchline of some obscure joke. Ultimately, it's his complete seen-it-all gruffness – an absolute strength of Jones – that makes Kay so funny. Jay is blown away by every new alien reveal but Kay got used to this shit decades ago. There's depth to the guy too, in a lost love story in his backstory. Maybe it's sappy but the way that is set-up, and then paid off on at the very end, always gets to me. I think the film earns that sentimental streak.

Really, the cast is strong all the way through. Vincent D'Onofrio commits with every fiber of his body to the role of The-Bug-in-the-Edgar-Suit. He twitches, spasmodically flails, and limps along all while barking in a gruff, grumbling voice and looking like a rotting corpse. The pure contempt for the human race he conveys is impressive. It's truly a masterclass in exaggerated mega-acting. If D'Onofrio goes way over-the-top as an unforgettable villain, much of the rest of the cast underplays it. Oh, not Tony Shalhoub as a delightfully twitchy, greasy intergalactic fence. But Rip Torn's balance of utterly nonchalant reactions and grave delivery of exposition compliments the other performers nicely. So does Linda Florentino, who brings just enough eccentric spice to what would otherwise be a damsel-in-distress role.

His previous movies didn't have much in the way of action sequences but Barry Sonnenfeld's already motion-heavy style is well-suited to the genre. From early on, there's a definite sense of movement to the movie. Such as when Mikey sprints across a sparse desert road, towards the screaming immigration officer. You see this again during the rocket car sequence through the Queens tunnel, the camera careening along with the speeding vehicle as it defies gravity. It's most obvious when Jay accidentally unleashes a bouncing ball of doom throughout MIB headquarters. More than once, the camera assumes the P.O.V. of the ricocheting object, as it bounces off little aliens or around offices. 

Yet, even though “Men in Black” is largely defined by the moving camera, Sonnenfeld understands the value of a nearly still image too. Especially when it comes to comedy. While Jones interrogates an alien in the foreground, Smith is bashed about by an alien in the throes of labor. The montage of bouncing destruction is broken up by Zed, calmly sitting in his office and deflecting the object with a folder, is hilarious. Over all, the blending of humor and action works fantastically throughout. Whether it be the Bug's shocked facial expressions during the final fight, Jay tossed around by the Noisy Cricket, or Will Smith crawling around inside an upside down car. 

While I'm partial to the practical creature effects, it must be said that the CGI effects in the film holds up extremely well. Edgar the Bug's full form, which the film holds off on revealing for as long as possible, doesn't look photorealistic. Yet it's a highly expressive creature with a clear personality, that moves with weight and realism. Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones even interact with the creature fairly convincingly. The CGI Bug was a replacement for a huge puppet that was deemed too stiff for the action-heavy last action, the result of a rewrite during filming. (This was late enough in the game that merchandise still featured the original Bug design.) Why is it that this twenty-three year old creation look better than stuff we see in major blockbusters in recent years? Perhaps more time and attention was taken with the Bug, considering CGI was still a new toy at the time. The computer graphics used on the MIB car and Mikey are noticeably not as strong. 

Lastly, the film's particular tone is established early on by Danny Elfman's fantastic score. The opening credits sequence, following the perspective of a dragonfly before it squishes on a windshield, is set to one of my favorite pieces of Elfman music. Low bow strings establish a foreboding mood of mystery before whimsical melodies take us higher and a driving theme takes over. This sets up the secret nature of the titular organization but also the sense of cool and humor that defines the film. (Many of these elements are returned to for the similar but equally excellent ending theme.) And, for what it's worth, I do like Will Smith's theme song. It's campy and pretty dumb, perhaps, but also insanely catchy. 

If it isn't obvious by now, “Men in Black” is a movie I love. I watched it countless times as a child. I credit the film for taking my already existing interest in UFOlogy and directing it more towards conspiracies and urban legends. (Which, thankfully, evolved into more of an anthropological interest in this topics and not wing-nuttery.) I think it's a just about perfect example of popcorn cinema. While critics were indifferent in 1997, audiences showed up in droves and made it the third highest grossing film of the year. Perhaps nostalgia colors my view of the movie some but, if that's the case, so be it. I still find this to be such a purely entertaining motion picture. [Grade: A]