Men in Black review 14.08.2007 Matt's Movie Review

When the earth is caught in the middle of an intergalactic war between two rival alien races who seek possession of a galaxy it is up to Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) and new recruit Agent J (Will Smith) of the Men in Black (an organization that monitors alien activity on earth) to save the day.
A decent sci-fi creature feature that made its money and then some, Men In Black would have been a much better film if it did not try so hard to rip off Ghostbusters, complete with terrible title song by the film's star Will Smith. A weak script does not help matters, but seeing as this is big budget summer fodder that really doesn't matter.
Tommy Lee Jones' deadpan humor and the flamboyance of Will Smith mesh surprisingly well with both actors doing what they do best, Smith's performance in particular not that much different from his performance in his previous years alien invasion flick Independence Day. Vincent D'Onofrio however brings something new to the table with a great turn as an alien bug causing havoc in a skin suit that once belonged to a shit kicking farmer on the outskirts of town. Linda Fiorentino unfortunately is rather bad as she does not possess the charisma that her co-stars have to bring some life to a paper thin plot.
The real stars of the film are Rick Baker and David Le Roy Anderson whose great FX and inventive creature designs steal the show, while composer Danny Elfman's rousing score and the excellent set designs are also a highlight. And while director Barry Sonnenfield does a good job at directing the film I would of liked to have seen something much more grainier and b-grade than the Hollywood gloss that -to Sonnenfiled's credit- he is very good at, but which took away from the fun that was being poked towards the sci-fi genre.