7.6 | / 10 |
Users | 4.3 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.4 |
A police officer joins a secret organization that polices and monitors extraterrestrial interactions on Earth.
Starring: Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith, Linda Fiorentino, Vincent D'Onofrio, Rip TornAction | 100% |
Sci-Fi | 59% |
Comedy | 16% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit)
French: Dolby TrueHD 5.1
Portuguese: Dolby TrueHD 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (448 kbps)
Thai: Dolby Digital 5.1
English, English SDH, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Arabic, Cantonese, Dutch, Indonesian, Korean, Thai
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
BD-Live
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
1500 years ago, everybody knew the Earth was the center of the universe. 500 years ago,
everybody knew the Earth was flat, and 15 minutes ago you knew we were alone on this planet.
Can you imagine what you'll know tomorrow?
In the great tradition of the alien/monster/comedy sub-genre that features such films as
Mars
Attacks! and Eight Legged Freaks, Men in Black is likely the most popular
offering the genre has ever seen due to its exciting visuals, over-the-top characters, and the
dynamic duo that is Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones. Released in 1997, the film features a
young Will
Smith who, at the time, was just finding his cinematic stride with the hits Independence Day
and
Bad Boys under his belt. In contrast, Tommy Lee Jones
brings a commanding, veteran
screen presence to his role with an Oscar nomination (Best Actor in a Supporting Role,
JFK)
and an Oscar win (Best Actor in a Supporting Role, The Fugitive) as well
as
a plethora of standout performances, including his roles in Under Siege, Natural Born Killers,
and Cobb on his resumé. Before you begin to think this information is worthless filler,
there is a point
to
it: both actor's careers, at the time Sony released Men in Black, seem to parallel their
on-screen characters almost precisely. Smith, with a short but impressive resumé, plays the
brash, up-and-coming, still wet-behind-the-ears, energetic, new kid on the block; Jones portrays
the grizzled veteran who's been in the trenches, knows the business (both acting in his "real life"
job
as well as the MiB in the movie) inside and out. As such, Jones commands a great deal of
attention and
respect the
moment he steps on-set or dons the black MiB suit when director Barry Sonnenfeld (RV) yells "action".
The film is expertly casted; both Jones
and Smith are the perfect choices for their respective roles, and that, above all else, is the primary
reason
why Men in Black works as well as it does.
What do you mean "Fire at Will!"?...I'm Will!
Men in Black looks as sharp on Blu-ray as its characters do in their trademark black suits. This 1.85:1, 1080p high definition transfer is a very good one; this film clearly benefits from the high definition treatment, but it's not quite up to par with the absolute best transfers, though there are times it comes remarkably close considering the film itself is over 10 years old. Every single aspect of the transfer is best described as remarkably "solid." Colors, definition, detail, sharpness, clarity, blacks, and flesh tones are all very good to excellent but not top-tier great. Will Smith's various brightly-colored clothing stands out as vibrant and rich, arguably the best-looking objects seen in the movie. The red jacket that he wears in the training facility has a wonderful presence insofar as standing out from the dull, gray locale he is in. His flamboyant wardrobe speaks of his personality, and the new blood he injects into the MiB is reflected in his attire worn early in the film. The film's outdoor scenes hold up the best. During the scene following Agents K and J's questioning Edgar's wife, they are seen taking soil samples outside, and the image has a bright, vivid, lifelike appearance that is easily one of the sharpest, best-looking scenes in the film. Another fine looking scene is found in chapter 12 when Agent K interrogates Frank the Pug. The visible detail of the storefront and the street in general is breathtaking in its clarity and definition. Men in Black on Blu-ray also offers a solid theatrical feel to the picture. This is a wonderful, pleasing transfer, one that is markedly superior to any previous home video edition, and Blu-ray enthusiasts, as well as fans of the film, should find the upgrade in video quality worth Sony's reasonable asking price for the disc.
Men in Black crashes down on Blu-ray with a high-octane, sci-fi extravaganza Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless soundtrack. This soundtrack offers a wide array of sound to bombard your senses and utilizes every millimeter of every speaker in your home theater. When Mikey is killed at the beginning, the sound crescendos to a nearly impossibly loud ensemble of sound, involving highs, lows, and everything in between. Another fascinating sonic sequence comes when Edwards arrives at MiB training grounds and listeners are treated to a wide array of interesting sounds, including the fans blowing as he enters the facility, the screech of the table he drags, and the ringing of the gunshots during a "trial by fire." There is generally a surround presence heard throughout the movie, be it the film's score, the bustle of the MiB command center (including the chaos that is the ball that caused the 1977 New York blackout), or ambient city noise. Dialogue is precise and clean, always played at a perfect volume in relation to the film and its soundtrack. The film's action scenes are sure to give the best home theater systems a harsh workout. The first time Agent J fires the "Noisy Cricket" outside of the jewelry store and the action scene that follows is a brief exercise in action done right, sonically. Pushing the "little red button" results in the second-finest example of chest-rattling bass in the movie (keep watching for the best), not to mention some fantastic directionality as a "car" speeds through a tunnel from the back of our screening room to the front. Like its video quality, Men in Black's audio track isn't the best, but you'll be hard-pressed to find ten+ year-old catalogue titles that sound much better, and this is easily the best this film has sounded on home video.
Men in Black invades Blu-ray as a fully-featured special edition. Two 1/2 commentary
tracks begin the festivities. The first is a "telestrator commentary" with director Barry
Sonnenfeld
and actor Tommy Lee Jones. This track is straight out of Mystery Science Theater 3000.
We see a silhouette of the two participants sitting at the bottom of the screen and on occasion
they
will
circle something they are discussing on-screen á la John Madden during a football game. As for
the commentary itself,
it's
a good one. Both Sonnenfeld and Jones are engaging with Jones oftentimes playing the role of
"us"
as he casually discusses how the film was made with the director, asking simple, straightforward
questions as well as offering basic yet interesting and pertinent information pertaining to the
rigors
of shooting and the magic of special effects. The approach these participants take, mixing a
lighthearted feel with fascinating information works fantastically, and the end result is an A+
commentary track that may very well be one of the top few I've heard yet. The "1/2"
commentary
track follows the telestrator track. It is simply the same one as heard and described above, but
without the telestrator and Sonnenfeld and Jones silhouettes.
The other commentary is billed as a "technical" commentary. Once again , director Barry
Sonnenfeld leads the charge, this time accompanied by alien makeup effects artist Rick Baker and
the Industrial Light and Magic team, including second unit director and visual effects supervisor
Eric Brevig, Rob Coleman, the animation effects supervisor, and John Burton, the computer
graphics supervisor. This hodgepodge of participants are not all together (Baker sounds like he's
in a closet) and the track doesn't have a flow to it. There is still some fantastic information here,
but it is not a very engaging listen, especially compared to the first track with Sonnenfeld and
Jones. This one is still worth a listen for budding effects artists and hardcore fans of the film.
Intergalactic Pursuit: The MIB Multi-Player Trivia Game allows players to answer
questions pertaining to the movie and its stars. Questions are timed, and respondents earn more
points the faster they answer the questions. Players can play in a single-player mode or online
against other players. There are some video clip-based questions thrown in as well, making this
game feel vaguely similar to Scene it?. As an oddity, Sony misspelled the title of one of
their own films, The Pursuit of
Happyness, in one of their questions, replacing the "y" in "Happyness" with an "i."
Ask Frank the Pug! is next. The feature feels like a souped-up version of those magic
8-ball toys. You choose a question to ask, and select from one of five categories (career, health,
money, romance, and everything else) that best fits the question you had in mind. Frank then
provides a completely random response.
Five extended and alternate scenes (480p, 4:21) are available next. Metamorphosis of 'Men
in Black' (480p, 23:12) features a solid overview of the origins of the idea and some
behind-the-scenes looks at the making of the film, with an emphasis on some of the special
effects. Yet
again, we are beat over the head with more "Mikey" information, 95% of which we learned in the
commentary tracks. There is other repetitive material here, but some new takes on ideas
presented before as well, so it's worth watching for fans. Original Featurette (480p,
6:38) is a most basic overview of the film that provides no information we cannot find elsewhere
in the movie or the other supplements. Visual Effects Scene Deconstruction
begins with a director's introduction and offers two scenes: "Tunnel Scene" and "Edgar Bug Fight
Scene." With optional technical commentary, viewers can see these two scenes evolve through
various stages, including storyboards, blue screen shot, blue screen composite, lighting and
animation, and the final cut of the scene as seen in the film.
Character Animation Studies is similar to the previous feature. Viewers can select a
character (Mikey, Jeebs, or Worm Guys) and see them in various stages of development,
including preliminary, adding skin & texture, animation with lighting, and the final character
composite into scene. Once again, a brief introduction with director Barry Sonnenfeld is available.
Creatures: Concept to Completion allows viewers to select one of five creatures: Edgar
Bug, Jeebs, Mikey, Mr. Gentle, and Farmer Edgar, and witness the metamorphosis of each one in
differing stages of concept and completion. A series of still galleries is next, broken into three
categories: "Storyboard Gallery," "Conceptual Art," and "Production Photos." Storyboard
Comparisons showcases the storyboards played next to the final cut from the film for three
scenes: "Edgar Becomes a Bug," "Saucer Crashes in Queens," and "Birthing the Baby Alien."
Unfortunately, both the scene and the storyboards appear in a very tiny box which lessens the
visual
impact of the comparison.
Next up is a Scene Editing Workshop. I've always enjoyed features of this nature since
discovering the first one on my Criterion Collection LaserDisc version of Bram Stoker's Dracula.
Viewers can cut their own scene for the movie by viewing various takes and editing them
together as they see fit. Your end product can then be compared to the director's final vision of
the scene. Viewers have the option of editing together scenes entitled "The Farmhouse," "Jay's
Tryout for the MIB," and "The Morgue." Music Video: 'Men in Black' (480p, 4:19) is next.
The film's original teaser (1080p, 1:43) and theatrical trailer (1080p, 2:30) are available. 1080p
trailers for other Sony titles, including 21, The Water Horse: Legend of
the Deep, Vantage Point, First Sunday and
Sony's Blu-ray promotional montage are available for your viewing pleasure. Finally, this disc is
BD Live (Blu-ray
profile 2.0) enabled. Once loaded, viewers can watch previews for various Sony titles, view a
FAQ, and see the latest Blu-ray information from Sony, including a list of new releases.
Men in Black is a film that works well thanks in large part to its ensemble cast. Along with a fantastic concept, an interesting cast of alien characters, and plenty of humor, Men in Black's popularity as a sci-fi/comedy favorite is easily justifiable. Equally so is the place this Blu-ray disc deserves in your budding collection. It offers a wonderful video transfer, an equally wonderful lossless soundtrack, and enough supplements to keep the most ardent Men in Black fans busy for the better part of a day. Men in Black on Blu-ray comes highly recommended!
1997
25th Anniversary Edition
1997
Hombres de negro
1997
Combo Pack + $5 Vudu Offer
1997
Mastered in 4K
1997
1997
1997
Blu-ray Essentials
1997
2012
2002
2019
2007
2009
2011
2008
2018
1971
30th Anniversary Edition | Mastered in 4K
1984
2013
1998
2015
2018
2007
2010
1970
2012
2024
Theatrical & Unrated Cuts
1972