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Men in Black

Men in Black

Action · Adventure · Comedy · 1997

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.

Movie details

Men in Black

“Protecting the Earth from the scum of the universe.”

1997 Action · Adventure · Comedy 1h 38m

Critical arithmetic

The consensus, allegedly.

IMDb

7.3 / 10

658.3K votes

Rotten Tomatoes

91 %

Tomatometer

Metacritic

72 / 100

Metascore

TMDB

7.2 / 10

Community rating

External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.

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.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Men in Black?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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The Amazing Spider-Man 2

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Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

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Men in Black II

Men in Black II

Action · 2002

Kay and Jay reunite to provide our best, last and only line of defense against a sinister seductress who levels the toughest challenge yet to the MIB's untarnished mission statement – protecting Earth from the scum of the universe. It's been four years since the alien-seeking agents averted an intergalactic disaster of epic proportions. Now it's a race against the clock as Jay must convince Kay – who not only has absolutely no memory of his time spent with the MIB, but is also the only living person left with the expertise to save the galaxy – to reunite with the MIB before the earth submits to ultimate destruction.

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I Am Number Four

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Men in Black: International

Men in Black: International

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The Men in Black have always protected the Earth from the scum of the universe. In this new adventure, they tackle their biggest, most global threat to date: a mole in the Men in Black organization.

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When an unexpected enemy emerges and threatens global safety and security, Nick Fury, director of the international peacekeeping agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D., finds himself in need of a team to pull the world back from the brink of disaster. Spanning the globe, a daring recruitment effort begins!

Rim of the World

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Stranded at a summer camp when aliens attack the planet, four teens with nothing in common embark on a perilous mission to save the world.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Barry Sonnenfeld

Written by

Ed Solomon

Tommy Lee Jones

Tommy Lee Jones

Kay

Will Smith

Will Smith

Jay

Linda Fiorentino

Linda Fiorentino

Laurel

Vincent D'Onofrio

Vincent D'Onofrio

Edgar

Rip Torn

Rip Torn

Zed

Tony Shalhoub

Tony Shalhoub

Jeebs

Siobhan Fallon Hogan

Siobhan Fallon Hogan

Beatrice

Court is in session

Put Men in Black on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Adrenaline Seeker

“Momentum is a formal choice.”

The velocity sharpens instinct and tension, making every beat land before self-importance can settle in.

The prosecution The Auteur Devotee

“Speed as an alibi.”

The film races past its weak spots and hopes acceleration will keep the audience from inspecting the evidence.