Fun sci-fi comedy with Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith
An athletic New York City police officer (Will Smith) joins a shadowy government organization that deals with extraterrestrial interactions on Earth. Tommy Lee Jones plays his senior partner, Rip Torn the head of the agency, Vincent D'Onofrio a possessed hick and Linda Fiorentino an attractive coronor.
"Men in Black" (1997) is wildly amusing in the first half, but loses its energy a bit in the last act. Nevertheless, it fills the bill for when you’re in the mood for fun & thrilling popcorn entertainment. It inspired three sequels as of this date: “Men in Black II” (2002), “Men in Black 3” (2012) and “Men in Black: International” (2019) with the last one being the only movie in the series without Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith.
The film runs 1 hour, 38 minutes, and was shot in New York City & surrounding area (e.g. Jersey City), as well as Semi Valley, CA (the saucer crash sequence) and nearby Los Angeles/Culver City.
GRADE: B-