Men in Black Review

Men In Black is a big, crazy comic-book of a film which has something most recent blockbusters don`t have - a sense of humour. Tommy Lee Jones plays K, a member of the top secret US Government division 6: his mission - to keep control on the aliens among us - and this isn`t a reference to people who`ve entered America from other countries (though you can read that into it) - these aliens are from other planets. There are apparently a lot of them around already, disguised as humans, and behaving themselves, but sometimes they misbehave, and sometimes, like the alien that`s inhabited the body of redneck farmer Edgar, played by Vincent D`Onofrio, they`re very nasty. In combating the Edgar alien, K is given vital assistance by new recruit J - Will Smith - a former New York cop with plenty of attitude, who`s scepticism about aliens doesn`t last long...Men In Black is a deliciously cool sci fi adventure, with plenty of eye-popping special effects and deadpan jokes galore. Smith and Jones are particularly adept at getting the maximum amusement from this very tall tale, and director Barry Sonnenfeld who was, you`ll remember, a cinematographer before he became a director, handles the nonsense with a sharp eye for the smart image. After a while, the film runs out of plot, but audiences probably won`t be too troubled by that. It is important to note that the version being screened across Australia has been modified by the distributor, Columbia Tri-Star, after it was given a quite unwarranted M rating by the censorship board.