After a police chase with an otherworldly being, a New York City cop is recruited as an agent in a top-secret organization established to monitor and police alien activity on Earth: the Men in Black. Agent K and new recruit Agent J find themselves in the middle of a deadly plot by an intergalactic terrorist who has arrived on Earth to assassinate two ambassadors from opposing galaxies.
Acting
Smith and Jones' deadpan chemistry carries the whole thing.
Practical Effects
Rick Baker's creature effects still outshine most CGI today.
Production
That black suit + shades aesthetic became instant iconography.
Director
Barry Sonnenfeld
Tommy Lee Jones
Kay
Will Smith
Jay
Linda Fiorentino
Laurel
Vincent D'Onofrio
Edgar
Rip Torn
Zed
Tony Shalhoub
Jeebs
Siobhan Fallon Hogan
Beatrice
Mike Nussbaum
Gentle Rosenburg
Jon Gries
Van Driver
Sergio Calderón
Jose
Carel Struycken
Arquillian
Fredric Lehne
INS agent Janus
Richard Hamilton
Dee
Kent Faulcon
1st Lt. Jake Jensen
John Alexander
Mikey
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Chris O'Donnell and David Schwimmer both turned down Agent J; Will Smith's fresh prince swagger redefined blockbuster casting.
The 'neuralyzer' became pop culture shorthand for any convenient memory wipe — the film basically invented a verb for collective denial.
US
