Men In Black (1997) Dir: Barry Sonnenfield

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Growing up, I must have watched this bizarre Barry Sonnenfield directed sci-fi comedy tens of times. It has become a bit of a 90's sci-fi classic, and spawned three sequels, which are admittedly nowhere near as popular or acclaimed. However, it had been a very long time since I last watched any of them, so, of course, I felt like it was well worth revisiting this first one at the very least.

The film is full of fun and practical effects, props, and sets, albeit mixed into a more realistic world. A few of the effects have aged a bit poorly, which, in fairness, becomes inevitable after a while. They're not unwatchably poor, but they are most definitely cheesy. With that said, I do find that films like this have an innate charm to them that can only be formed by the use of practical effects, no matter how cheesy. I will say, however, that the CGI looks really quite bad, and not in a fun way.

The story combines all sorts of classic science fiction themes and ideas, mostly surrounding the all-too-familiar idea of an agency above the government who investigate extraterrestrial life. The comedy is typically 90's, but most of it still works well enough. Much of the narrative is entertaining and adventurous, and even a little bit scary, at one or two points. I can certainly remember being freaked out by the film's antagonist as a child.

Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones are not a duo most people would ever expect to make a good on-screen team, but, for what it's worth, I really like them together. The young, rebellious, cop - a familiar and not at all unique character for Smith - worked really well with the tired and desensitised old guard-type of Lee Jones. The two characters aren't exactly original in archetype, but the two actors made them their own, and were each memorable in their own ways.

The supporting cast has one excellent performance from Vincent D'onofrio, whose strange, uncomfortable mannerisms were exceedingly creepy, but undeniably perfect for his role. Meanwhile, Linda Fiorentino takes the typical 90's female character position of sort or relevant, but confined to a definitively secondary 'love interest' role. I also think it's worth briefly mentioning Rip Torn and Tony Shalhoub for their entertaining supporting performances.

Overall, I'd say I enjoyed revisiting this silly science fiction comedy, although I don't think I like it as much as I used to, which is okay - it happens. It was worth watching again, at least once. It has its issues, but it also retains plenty of the comedy that worked so well for it back when it came out in the late 90's. The film hasn't quite inspired me to watch the sequels again, but then, that doesn't really matter.