Smith, Jones can't save 'Men in Black' from mediocre direction

By Kiran Nandalur
Daily Arts Writer

Imagine this novel premise: A team of mysterious and secretive men regulate the immigration of aliens to Earth and help preserve humans' peace of mind and universal harmony. With this interesting idea, the present-day ability to produce dazzling special effects and the backing of executive producer Steven Spielberg, it would be easy to conclude that a memorable and amazing film could be made. Consequently, "Men in Black," which encompasses these characteristics, would seem to have great potential, but instead the mediocre, simple and predictable movie falls short of high expectations because of poor direction.

REVIEW
	Men in Black 2 stars At Briarwood and Showcase

The film stars Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) as a founding member of a covert government organization, Men in Black, which helps aliens take refuge on Earth and also protects humans from rebel beings with the help of high-tech weapons. When his partner suddenly retires, the serious - but not humorless - character seeks a replacement. Eventually, NYPD supercop James Edwards (Will Smith) gets entangled in an alien dilemma, gets recruited by Agent K and becomes the reckless and jocular Agent J.

The mission of the two agents is to stop an evil extraterrestrial bug from capturing "the galaxy," a small sphere of immense importance to many forms of aliens. Along with medical examiner Dr. Weaver (Linda Fiorentino), who becomes involved with her autopsies on dead aliens in human form, they battle to retrieve the sphere, destroy the violent insect and save the earth from an impending destruction.

The defining aspect of a great action-cop movie is the dynamic relationship between the characters. For example, the chemistry between the nutty Mel Gibson and the tightly-wound Danny Glover in the "Lethal Weapon" series helped them draw critical raves. Comedian/rapper Will Smith has the perfect opportunity in "Men in Black" to shine in a comic-relief role to Agent K's workmanlike attitude, but time after time he plays the innocent buffoon instead of delivering the knockout line. As for Jones, he would seem to be perfect for the hard-nosed agent role, but his extreme stoicism detracts from the emotional connection between the protagonists. True coherence is only present when the freaky Dr. Weaver and Agent J exchange sexual barbs.

Even without the compelling characters, the film could have been redeemed with fascinating aliens (as in "Return of the Jedi") but opts for possibly the dullest space invaders in movie history. The small brown creatures in the MIB headquarters are supposed to be cute and funny but come off as disgusting and droll. An autopsy of one of the leading space visitors reveals something out of a cheesy Ed Wood film. With contemporary technology, the film's creators could have done so much more.

Another disappointing aspect of "Men in Black" is the weak plot. The significance of "the galaxy" is confusing and ultimately unclear. Consequently, the motivation of the huge bug seems undirected, and his interesting inferiority complex toward humans is only touched upon. Finally, the whole movie can be reduced to a sequence of action scenes; thus it lacks necessary thematic continuity.

Overall, "Men in Black" fails in comparison not to other movies but to the potentially excellent film it could have been. The film continually reaches for greatness but inevitably collapses because of uninspired directing by Barry Sonnenfeld. If Spielberg had put his magical directing touch on the film instead of acting as executive producer, the movie could have been of higher quality, instead of just another unmemorable blockbuster.

Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith, as Agents K and J, respectively, save the world from evil alien bugs (top). The Men in Black use their "flashy light thingie" to erase the memories of alien witnesses (bottom). "You didn't see anything. It was a weather balloon. Really ..."

07-16-97