Unless you’ve had your memory erased by a carefully deployed neuralyzer device, you’ll recall the Men in Black film franchise. Oh, you may not recall all the entries (there’s four of them, we all forget some things), but you will remember liking the first film and probably watching at least one or two of the others.
Heck, you may have watched all of them! Between 1997’s Men in Black and 2019’s Men in Black: International the franchise has made over $1.9 billion, meaning a fair few film fans have been keeping tabs on the series.
OK, so many will agree the Men in Black series has served up a bumpy ride over the years, but there is clearly a great deal of appeal in the format. The mix of sci-fi, action, and comedy seems to be a winner for audiences, as does the high profile cast, and this has helped the Men in Black franchise retain its brand name, despite the bumps.
But which films are you familiar with, and which have you completely erased from your mind? Let’s find out, as this edition of Movie Reviews Franchise Focus takes a look at the Men in Black movies.
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Men in Black (1997)
First up is Men in Black (1997) – the entry which is generally considered the best (because it is). Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, the movie stars Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, Linda Fiorentino, Rip Torn, and Vincent D’Onofrio, and follows the story of a New York police detective who joins a shadowy organisation that monitors extra-terrestrial life on Earth.
In the film, officer James Darrell Edwards III is chasing down a suspected criminal when he discovers the perpetrator is not as human as he appears to be. A short while later, James is approached by the mysterious Agent K, and recruited into the Men in Black.
Adopting the name Agent J, James gives up his old life, with all traces of his existence wiped from the records. He is now a trainee member of the Men in Black, and is partnered with K.
As K begins to teach J the ropes, they uncover a troubling situation. A bug-like alien has crash landed on Earth and his presence could trigger the entire destruction of the planet.
This pressing problem, as well as J’s induction into the Men in Black, becomes the main focus of the film, while the remaining gaps are filled in with some great gags and a slick script. There are also fantastic performances from Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones.
Smith’s quick-wit, combined with Jones’ deadpan delivery proves to be a winning formula, as well as the real strength of Men in Black. Everything else – including some superb creature effects, a catchy theme song from Smith, and a great score from composter Danny Elfman – are just the icing on the cake.
Men in Black is a brilliant movie. There’s not an ounce of waste, it’s just pure fun and entertainment through and through, and it gets the series off to a brilliant start!
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Men in Black II (2002)
With Men in Black proving popular with both critics and audiences alike, it wasn’t long before a sequel arrived in the shape of Men in Black II (2002). Picking up the story five years after the events of Men in Black, J is now the organisation’s best agent, while K is blissfully working at the post office, having retired from the Men in Black and had his memory erased (as seen at the end of the first film).
However, when the shapeshifting alien Serleena (Lara Flynn Boyle), and her two-headed minion, Scrad and Charlie (Johnny Knoxville), start causing trouble in their quest to obtain the Light of Zartha, J is forced to bring K back out of retirement. K has vital information about the Light, J just needs to get around the tricky problem of K’s memories being wiped!
Sounds a bit like an attempt to unpick the ending of Men in Black, doesn’t it? Well, herein lies the big stumbling block that returning director Barry Sonnenfeld attempts to overcome with this largely disappointing sequel.
The main aim of Men in Black was to have J replace K and lead the film series moving forward, yet Men in Black II spends a huge chunk of its runtime undoing all this to reunite Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones. Both of whom are excellent in this sequel, it’s just everything else that falls short.
The jokes aren’t as sharp, the villains aren’t as effective, and almost every aspect of the picture feels like a retread. Even minor background characters from the first film (Frank the Pug, the Worm Guys, etc) become tiresome as they are wheeled out and relied on for some laughs.
Men in Black II is a sequel in the bad sense of the word. It’s a follow-up which rehashes what came before, doesn’t have anything new to say, and exists solely because the first film made money.
Watchable? Yes. But nothing more than an average sci-fi action movie.
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Men in Black 3 (2012)
Following the critical (although not commercial) failure of Men in Black II, the series went on hiatus for ten years. When it returned, Smith and Jones came back for more, as did director Barry Sonnenfeld, for the time-travel romp, Men in Black 3 (2012).
Joining them are Jermaine Clement, Emma Thompson, and Josh Brolin, who takes on the role of a young Agent K. As for the story, J goes back in time to 1969, where he teams up with a more youthful K to foil the plans of the evil alien, Boris the Animal.
Along the way, they bump into Andy Warhol, befriend a mysterious figure with clairvoyant abilities, and J learns a little more about his own past. And all of this happens in a surprisingly fun entry in the Men in Black series, which hits the spot quite nicely.
It would be easy to imagine Men in Black 3 being a lacklustre entry following the general misfire that is Men in Black II, but this isn’t the case at all. Men in Black 3 recaptures a great deal of the magic and delivers plenty of entertainment.
Sure it does feel like Tommy Lee Jones is largely only back due to some contractual obligation he simply can’t get out of, but he’s fine in his reduced role. Plus, Josh Brolin is superb as the young K, and manages to channel the essence of Jones magnificently.
Men in Black 3 is humorous, inventive, and ultimately fun. It’s what Men in Black II should be, and it thankfully moves the Men in Black film series back in the right direction – albeit very briefly.
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Men in Black: Intentional (2019)
Despite Men in Black 3 being a hit, both critically and financially, it is almost all change for the fourth outing, Men in Black: International (2019). Emma Thompson reprises the role of Agent O from the previous film, and Frank the Pug and the Worm Guys return, but fresh blood is brought in for this next instalment.
Smith and Jones are out and Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson are in. Hemsworth takes on the role of Agent H, while Thompson is new recruit, Agent M.
Meanwhile, taking on director duties is F. Gary Gray. But the change of guard does absolutely nothing for the series, and Men in Black: International is yet another misfire, but even more so than Men in Black II.
The story centres around an adventure with the UK branch, which brings in Liam Neeson as UK head, High T. Unfortunately, Neeson is the only highlight and the rest of the movie is a complete snooze-fest.
The gags fall flat, the plot is forgettable, new characters get introduced for no real reason, and it all seems like a complete waste of time. Everything served up in Men in Black: International is a million miles away from the brilliance of Men in Black, and it is such a shame to see the franchise fall so far fourth time around.
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Tag lines
With each new MIB movie, there’s a new poster, as well as a new tagline. Here are the taglines for movies one through four:
- Men in Black – “Protecting the Earth from the scum of the universe.”
- Men in Black II – “Back in black.”
- Men in Black 3 – “Back in time.”
- Men in Black: International – “The world’s not going to save itself.”
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Just the Stats, Ma’am
As the MIB series expanded, the budgets fluctuated, as did the box office returns. Here is how the films shaped up:
- Men in Black – Budget: $90 million / Box Office: $589.4 million
- Men in Black II – Budget: $140 million / Box Office: $445.1 million
- Men in Black 3 – Budget: $215–$250 million / $654.2 million
- Men in Black: International – Budget: $94 – $110 million / Box Office: $253.9 million
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Star Movie
OK, time to weigh up all of the movies now to decide which is the Star Movie. I’m taking into account their individual merits, their distinct storylines, their unique…
…ah, who am I kidding here? There’s one clear Star Movie, and it is Men in Black.
While Men in Black 3 is fun, and deserves some recognition for being an enjoyable entry in the series, the MIB sequels simply can’t compete with 1997’s Men in Black.
Men in Black is heaps of fun, the chemistry between Smith and Jones is perfect, and the whole thing zips along nicely. Men in Black was a huge hit when it debuted in 1997 (it was a brilliant summer blockbuster) and all these years later it still stands up.
And if you like Men in Black (or the Men in Black movie series), you may also like:
- Independence Day (1996) – Will Smith teams up with Jeff Goldblum in the ultimate disaster movie centred around a global alien invasion.
- Evolution (2001) – David Duchovny and Julianne Moore star in this sci-fi comedy about alien creatures that crash land on Earth and begin to evolve.
- I, Robot (2004) – Will Smith plays a detective investigating an alleged suicide which he is convinced is actually a murder case involving a robot.
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That’s all for this edition of Movie Reviews Franchise Focus. Should you want to remain in the movie zone, be sure to take a look at the Movie Reviews Franchise Focus on the Police Academy movies.
And if that’s not enough, be sure to take a look at the weekly editions of Movie Reviews 2025. Dropping every seven days, Movie Reviews 2025 is your indispensable guide to what’s hot and what’s not at the cinema, on streaming, and on disc.
Alex
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