Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘Men in Black’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

There are, a great many questions and mysteries that man has asked and worked to explore that remain unanswered and hidden, and of the greatest ones that plagues our scientific community, is whether or not we are alone in the universe. Because there seems to be a consensus out there that discovering life on other planets would benefit mankind in limitless fashion since it could revolutionize science as we know it and change our perspective about our place in the universe. But alas, despite our best efforts to find life on other planets in our solar system or communicate with another intelligent species out there in the void, we’ve simply come up short.
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But that still doesn’t stop the human mind from playing ‘what if?’ when it comes to the possibility of discovering life from other worlds and its definitely fueled the creative community to explore that notion in great depth and the end result of such explorations are some truly iconic science fiction stories that have outright taken our breath away. In fact, stories involving aliens are so popular in this day and age that they’ve almost become an outright commodity in the modern era, making it difficult sometimes to find stories that truly leave us in awe. But back in 1997, a new motion picture hit the big screen that found a way to ignite that sense of wonder we crave when it comes to tales in this vein in, Men in Black.

Now this is a motion picture that quite frankly, we all know the plot to, because let’s be honest, everyone saw this sucker when it came out back in the day. So, that means there’s no need to revisit the plot in detail. Instead, it’s best we talk about what made this motion picture so great and really, the best place to start is to discuss the structure of the story because that’s really what draws the audience in. I mean come on, taking the mysterious myth of the men in black and building an entire world within our world revolving around them is a stroke of genius because you instantly want to know about the MIB and how they function, and being able to able to explore their world and their reach is just fascinating and it truly draws you into the story.

But while world building is important, let’s be honest, the true draw of this film, is how it takes our breath away and really, that’s accomplished by way of two key elements, the first one being Jay’s journey. Because Will Smith’s performance and how Jay is introduced to a world where aliens walk among us is handled in magnificent fashion since it allows for the viewer to feel as though they’re seeing aliens for the first time ever, and that allows for that sense of wonder to wash over us. Which brings us to the other factor in how this movie leaves us in awe; Rick Baker’s special effects work in this motion picture. Because he more or less did the impossible and was able to build creatures that truly look alien in every sense of the word and being lost in those visuals is nothing short of true movie magic.

Yet, while those elements are special in their own right, the overall story has merit as well. Because the plot is supremely compelling since you can never go wrong with a plot where the fate of the world hangs in the balance, and it’s also important to note that Tommy Lee Jones and Vincent D’Onofrio are delightful in their respective roles as well since they too add depth to an already fascinating story and really, when all is said and done, what makes this move so remarkable, is that it’s all about the fun. For this one put a smile on our faces, one that didn’t disappear until long after we left the theater and when a movie can accomplish that particular feat, it really is something special. But alas, while this movie really is something unique, its magic was difficult to recreate, but that most certainly didn’t stop the studio from trying to recapture it, time and time again…

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