This month, I want to take you back to 1997. I can barely remember one significant thing about 1997. Sorry. But what I do remember, very vividly, is that it was the second year in a row that Will Smith had saved the Earth and the summer. Folks, today, I want to talk about 1997’s Men In Black. MIB was the story of two men, Agent K (The rugged old vet played by Tommy Lee Jones) and Agent J (The bold and stylish rookie played by Will Smith), who were tasked with the mission to save the world from what essentially was a giant cockroach (Vincent D’Onofrio). But that’s just at it’s barest description. MIB eventually went on to make 578 million dollars worldwide. That was back in 1997. 1997! 3D was still a dead format, so… There were no inflated “$15 for special viewing” tickets, IMAX screens were still mostly being used for education, and the economy was leagues ahead of what it is currently. MIB was a monster. But then, you might be asking me, “Fleet! MIB wasn’t a comic book, what are you talking about?” To this, I say, “Yes it was.”

The original comic, by Lowell Cunningham, was published by Aircel Comics in 1990. It featured various agents of a secret organization that was designed to suppress paranormal activity on Earth as well as keeping the public in the dark about what really goes bump in the night. One of the most major differences between the comic and the movie is that the movie had the MIB policing alien activity on and around Earth, however, the comic had the MIB dealing with ghosts, demons, mutants, and other things as well as aliens. Another difference comes with the handling of witnesses. In the comic, witnesses are killed whereas in the films, witnesses are mindwiped with an alien device that causes memory loss. The other big difference is that the MIB of the comic were ultimately manipulating and controlling the ways of the planet into their designs, opposed to the MIB of the films that were just protecting the Earth from devastation.

But this isn’t a history lesson on the comic… No. This is why I love the movie so much. It’s hard to convey, but I can tell you that it’s a whole lot harder to not like the movie than it is to like it. I mean, how can you not enjoy the quips of the Fresh Prince, or the surly old-man antics of Tommy Lee Jones? The aliens were inventive, the technology looked awesome, the theme song was cool while paying tribute to the original sampled song called “Forget Me Nots”, and all the side characters were great in the roles they played. Rip Torn as the boss of the agency, Zed was a very interesting take on a boss. But then, Rip Torn is a very interesting dude. Linda Fiorentino as a medical examiner who has a knack for continuously running in the MIB, (only to be mindwiped) shared a great chemistry with Will Smith’s Agent J, so good that my mother was very disappointed that she didn’t return for the sequel (which probably wasn’t the worst decision). Then you had a pre-Monk/post-Wings Tony Shalhoub as a alien black market arms dealer with the unique ability to regrow his limbs. For the few moments he was in the film, he was also great with what he had to play with, plus, seeing his head explode and grow back is still fun to see. Then there’s Frank the Pug. Voiced by Tim Blaney, (Also the voice of “Johnny” #5 of Short Circuit 1 & 2) most folks love this “adorable” dog shaped alien in a dog suit. Personally, I’m not a fan of Pugs, but when he shared the screen with Jones and Smith, well, you can’t help but to enjoy the fun they’re having. And of course, let’s not forget D’Onofrio. He played a farmer whose skin was used as a disguise for a giant nasty cockroach. His mannerisms were priceless as the skin began to decay and sag. Plus he looked pretty creepy… So there’s that.

What’s also great here is the special effects. From the time between the previous Summer’s Independence Day movie, it seemed like the CG used in the film skipped a few generations forward. I think the only thing that really looks dated now-a-days are the effects used for creating the giant bug at the end of the film, but by no means are they awful. The practical effects are pretty sweet as well. For example, the alien humanoid-squid baby was as far as I can tell, it was completely practical, save for maybe it’s blink. Maybe. But there was a lot of imagination used to create for the movie. Between Steven Spielberg (Producer), Barry Sonnenfeld (Director), and Rick Baker (One of the greatest special effects/make-up artists of all time)… A lot of good things happened in this movie. I’d go as far to say that they created magic… They tried to recreate that magic again back in 2002. It didn’t work as well. Not to say that I didn’t enjoy the movie, it just couldn’t live up to the original, nor could it live up to the animated series that followed the first movie either. But hey, no one’s perfect. I’m just happy to hear that everyone is willing to try one more time with Men In Black 3. While only an announcement, I hope that it does come to fruition. It’s been a long time since Will Smith has saved the summer. See ya next time.

-Fleet