Men in Black (1997)
87%RT Audience Score: 79%
Awards & Nominations: 9 nominations
Thanks to a smart script, spectacular set pieces, and charismatic performances from its leads, Men in Black is an entirely satisfying summer blockbuster hit
Men in Black” is out of this world! The combination of humor, special effects, and charismatic performances by Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones make this movie a must-see. Plus, who doesn’t love a good alien conspiracy played for laughs? The movie’s runtime is just right, so you won’t be checking your watch. And let’s not forget about those Rick Baker alien effects – they’re out of this world! So grab your neuralyzer and get ready for a sharp, sci-fi crowdpleaser that’s just damn fun.
Production Company(ies)
Warner Bros., 5000 Broadway Productions, Likely Story
Distributor
Columbia Pictures
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
Castello Aragonese, Ischia, Naples, Italy
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG-13 for sci-fi action, some language and suggestive material.
Year of Release
2019
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:NA
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Runtime:1h 38m
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Language(s):English, French, Chinese
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Jul 4, 1997 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): May 13, 2003
Genre(s)
Action/Comedy
Keyword(s)
Worldwide gross: $253,890,701
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $293,359,163
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 512
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 31,991,185
US/Canada gross: $80,001,807
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $92,438,451
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 791
US/Canada opening weekend: $30,035,838
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $34,705,045
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 376
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $110,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $127,099,999
Production budget ranking: 285
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $68,443,350
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $97,815,814
ROI to date (est.): 50%
ROI ranking: 1,150
Will Smith – Officer James Darrel Edwards III, MiB Agent J (Jay)
Linda Fiorentino – Deputy Medical Examiner Laurel Weaver, M.D., MiB Agent L (Elle)
Vincent D’Onofrio – Edgar, Edgar Bug
Rip Torn – MiB Chief Z (Zed)
Tony Shalhoub – Jeebs
Director(s)
Barry Sonnenfeld
Writer(s)
Lowell Cunningham, Ed Solomon
Producer(s)
Laurie MacDonald, Walter F. Parkes
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
9 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (91) | Top Critics (30) | Fresh (84) | Rotten (7)
A terrifically entertaining combination of alien conspiracy fears played for laughs and French Connection-meets-Ghostbusters thrills… Men in Black is so much fun one is actually mildly disappointed when it ends after an economically short 98 minutes.
July 2, 2019
David Hunter
Hollywood Reporter
TOP CRITIC
Men in Black is the wryest, sharpest, most entertaining special effects film in recent memory, a simultaneous participant and mocking parody of the more-bang-for-your-buck behemoth genre.
August 12, 2014
Paul Tatara
CNN.com
TOP CRITIC
Men In Black deserves credit for supplementing its special effects with a breezy script and genuinely charismatic performances by Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones.
August 12, 2014
Stephen Thompson
AV Club
TOP CRITIC
Its attitude is poised somewhere between the deadpan ghoulishness of the Coen brothers and a Letterman-like sense of the absurdity of life in New York’s rich ethnic stew.
August 2, 2013
Dave Kehr
New York Daily News
TOP CRITIC
Men in Black is moderately amusing, well-constructed and mercifully short, but it fails to deliver on the zaniness of its first half.
July 31, 2013 | Rating: 2.5/4
John Hartl
Seattle Times
TOP CRITIC
There’s a playfulness, here, that you don’t often find in a special-effect flick.
April 14, 2013 | Rating: 4/5
Jay Boyar
Orlando Sentinel
TOP CRITIC
A sharp, sci-fi crowdpleaser.
April 18, 2022 | Rating: 4/5
James Croot
Stuff.co.nz
‘Men in Black’ is just damn fun. The cast is perfect, Rick Bakers alien effects are chefs kiss, and the movie’s runtime makes sure the film doesnt overstay its welcome.
April 8, 2022 | Rating: 5/5
Wayne Broadway
Black Girl Nerds
Choosing to go the route of puppets and primarily practical effects, the film’s look remains striking, even after years of advancing computer graphics.
September 14, 2020 | Rating: 9/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins
The gremlins and the gadgets are the real stars of this show.
May 12, 2020 | Rating: 3/5
Leigh Paatsch
Herald Sun (Australia)
In addition to being uniquely and necessarily a creature of the second half of the 1990s, quite possibly the best popcorn movie of that half-decade.
June 27, 2019 | Rating: 3.5/5
Tim Brayton
Alternate Ending
Men in Black is the rare breed of a sci-fi blockbuster that film audiences don’t really get the opportunity to see anymore in theaters.
June 11, 2019 | Rating: 5/5
Danielle Solzman
Solzy at the Movies…
Plot
After an eye-opening encounter of the third kind, the secret MiB organisation’s newest recruit, Agent M, finds herself under the wing of the heroic Agent H in cosmopolitan London, when a shape-shifting duo of intergalactic assassins executes an alien aristocrat. Now, with a devastating super-weapon of mass destruction hidden somewhere on Earth, the Men in Black will leave no stone unturned to retrieve it. However, heavy clouds of mistrust and a scent of betrayal envelop the once-incorruptible agency. Is there a well-placed mole in their midst?
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
There is no goofy or funny or odd comment about the film Men in Black on Fresh Kernels.
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