One of the best science fiction comedies in years.

Rating: 9/10 (27 December 2002)

Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith are the two most aptly named actors (Mr. Jones and Mr. Smith) to play the intensely secretive secret agents J and K, of the Men In Black, a secret organization that protects humankind from the threat of aliens, which are a lot closer to us than we realize. The premise of the film leaves open enormous opportunities for comic relief, and they wisely make use of this, not only with Smith's seemingly endless talents (`It just be rainin' black people in New York.') but also with the ironic humor that Jones is so good at. He has developed one of the most rigid iconographies in Hollywood, but still manages to take on a wide variety of roles in more serious movies like The Fugitive and entertaining comedies like Men In Black with equal effectiveness.
As is most often the case with fantastic movies like this, the thing that makes it the most interesting and believable is that it makes itself so compatible with reality. The reason that The Matrix was so good is because it left open a lot of questions that were not immediately dismissible, which is often something that brings down even the best science fiction movies. Who is to say that what The Matrix suggests, that we are all a lot of lifepods supports by machines for their own nutrition, is not true, and that we are not really only living in a reality created and implanted into our heads? Sure, it's not very likely, but it's definitely possible, which is certainly refreshing for the science fiction genre itself, which is mostly populated with laughable tales of aliens and space ships and lazer guns and whatnot.
Similar to The Matrix, Men In Black suggests that the human population is heavily infiltrated with aliens that disguise themselves as humans and have a relationship with the Men In Black not too different from that that we so often see in gang movies between the police and regular criminals. Almost a teacher/pupil relationship, the aliens treat the Men In Black as obvious authority figures despite quite often being enormously superior in size.
Will Smith is able to milk his part for all it's worth as the New York police officer who is a little too good for his own good, as he rushes into the Men In Black outfit, thinking that he is such a good cop that he has seen it all and can handle anything that comes his way. There are several delightful scenes that make up his introduction to the truly weird world of the Men In Black and their duties, and it comes around full circle (as usual) with Smith taking Jones's role and inserting Jones back into the normal human race with a quick flash of the deneuralyzer.

Anytime civilians are exposed to the aliens or the Men In Black in the performance of their duties, they are flashed with a deneuralyzer and new memories are inserted into their heads, keeping them safely ignorant to the things that go on around them, which seems to be the way most people in this country prefer it anyway. The gadgets in the movie are some of the most interesting things in the movie, much like just about any James Bond film. The Men In Black of course have access to some truly space-age weaponry and the cars they drive are not that special looking but have some serious accessories, making them able to handle just about any alien-emergency.

This is a classy, stylish science fiction movie that sets itself apart from other science fiction movies by being believable enough so that the audience doesn't sit there and try to count the times that it parts from reality. It presents some creative aliens, plenty of amusing and exciting situations, and a variety of one-liners that makes you believe that the James Bond series has miraculously not been able to pound this precious screenwriting trick into ridiculous oblivion. Entertainment for all ages. Don't miss this one.