Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith star in this effects-driven sci-fi laffer about two 'immigration agents' charged with keeping our borders safe from aliens. And we mean aliens. Though this boffo box-officer seems flimsier and flimsier with each viewing, at least the first few times through Men in Black is a real crowd pleaser, and this lavish 2-disc DVD set marks one of the most in-depth and ambitious special edition releases ever, with more extras than we could even begin to list here. Recommended for the features, but don't be surprised to find yourself underwhelmed by the film itself. (S. C. Sickles)[Blu-ray Review—June 24, 2008—Sony, 98 min., PG-13, $28.98—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 1997's Men in Black sports a great looking transfer with Dolby TrueHD 5.1 sound. The extras include two audio commentaries (one with director Barry Sonnenfeld and costar Tommy Lee Jones; the other with Sonnenfeld, alien makeup effects artist Rick Baker, and the ILM effects team), the 23-minute “Metamorphosis of MIB” featurette (23 min.), a six-minute original production featurette, five minutes of extended and alternate scenes, three “Visual Effects Scene Deconstructions,” an interactive scene editing workshop, stills galleries, storyboard comparisons, character animation studies, the music video for “Men in Black” by costar Will Smith, an “Intergalactic Pursuit” multi-player trivia game, an “Ask Frank the Pug!” interactive game, an alien subtitle track (incomprehensible, of course), and trailers. Bottom line: although it looks better than ever, the only two Blu-ray exclusives for this popular but overrated sci-fi spoof are the trivia game and the alien subtitle option.][Blu-ray Review—May 8, 2012—Sony, 98 min., PG-13, $19.99—Making its second appearance on Blu-ray, 1997's Men in Black sports a great transfer with Dolby TrueHD 5.1 sound. Extras are identical to the previous release, including two audio commentaries (one with director Barry Sonnenfeld and costar Tommy Lee Jones; the other with Sonnenfeld, alien makeup effects artist Rick Baker, and the ILM effects team), the 23-minute “Metamorphosis of MIB” featurette (23 min.), a six-minute original production featurette, five minutes of extended and alternate scenes, three “Visual Effects Scene Deconstructions,” an interactive scene editing workshop, stills galleries, storyboard comparisons, character animation studies, the music video for “Men in Black” by costar Will Smith, an “Intergalactic Pursuit” multi-player trivia game, an “Ask Frank the Pug!” interactive game, an alien subtitle track (incomprehensible, of course), and trailers. New to this edition is a bonus UltraViolet copy of the film. Bottom line: if you have the earlier Blu-ray release, you don't need this one.]
Men in Black
Columbia TriStar, 2 discs, 98 min., PG-13, $39.95 Vol. 15, Issue 6
Men in Black
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
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