Men in Black

Men in Black (1997)

  • 91% of critics liked it
    (68 reviews)

  • 73% of users liked it
    (957,686 ratings)

For his fifth effort as a feature-film director, one-time cinematographer Barry Sonnenfeld brought his cartoonish visual style and darkly humorous sensibilities to this adaptation of, appropriately enough, a tongue-in-cheek sci-fi comic book. Will Smith stars as James Darrel Edwards, a New York City… More

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PG-13, 1 hr. 38 min.
Directed By
Barry Sonnenfeld
Written By
Ed Solomon
Genres
Action & Adventure, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Comedy
In Theaters
Jul 2, 1997 Wide
On DVD
Oct 23, 1997
Columbia TriStar International

Critic Reviews

  • Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly

    Every time the film makes you chuckle, you may also feel it's zapped you with a neuralizer.

  • Todd McCarthy, Variety

    A wild knuckleball of a movie that keeps dancing in and out of the strike zone.

  • David Edelstein, Slate

    The smartest, funniest, and best-looking sci-fi comedy since the movies learned to morph.

  • Desson Thomson, Washington Post

    It's just the best yuk of the week.

  • Jeff Strickler, Minneapolis Star Tribune

    As ragged as the humor is, there still are more hits than misses.

Read all 19 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

  • Michael M


    Men in Black is a film that tries to be cool and suceeds. Smith and Jones are good screen couples that perform excellently backed up by a clever script, smart comedy and exciting action.

  • Alexander D


    Every viewing of MEN IN BLACK brings more laughs, much more enjoyment. It's just simply Will Smith's best film so far. Though that, it is certainly the weirdest of all '90s movies. Especially the last scene.

  • Eric A


    Very clever film that can entertain anyone from a little kid to a grown adult. Will Smith is always good.

  • Jeff "


    Men in Black is an interesting idea for a film. A secret government organization protects the world from Aliens, which I think is a really good premise for a film. The cast here are terrific and each brings a memorable addition to the screen. Mein in Black is not a perfect film, but… More

  • AJ V


    The super popular action sci-fi comedy of 97. Sure it was fun for a while, but this movie wasn't all that great really. It's humor is stupid, and there are so many other sci-fi comedies that are better. Overall it's an okay movie, though.

Read all 20 featured audience ratings

Cast

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