Poster © Sony Pictures Releasing. Shown at reduced size for review and commentary.
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GenreAction, Adventure & Comedy
RatedPG-13
Runtime1 hr 38 mins
ReleasedJuly 2, 1997
StreamingSee Where to Watch
DirectorBarry Sonnenfeld
StarringTommy Lee Jones, Will Smith, Linda Fiorentino
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Men in Black (1997)
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| TTMDB | +Add to Top 8 |
| Men in Black's Details | |
| Genre | Action, Adventure & Comedy |
| Rated | PG-13 |
| Released | 07/02/1997 (United States) |
| Streaming | See Where to Watch on this page. |
| Running Time | 1 hr 38 mins |
| Budget | $90M (reported) |
| Box Office | Updated daily from Box Office Mojo. See the numbers below. |
| Based On | The Men in Black by Lowell Cunningham |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Men in Black's Interests | |
| General | Black suits, sunglasses, neuralyzers, the Noisy Cricket, tabloids that are secretly true. |
| Music | Danny Elfman, plus Will Smith's "Men in Black" theme song. |
| Movies | Ghostbusters (1984). New York weirdness, handled by professionals. |
| Television | The X-Files. Mulder would have loved this job. |
| Heroes | Frank the Pug. Small dog, huge attitude. |
| Men in Black's Crew | |
| Director | Barry Sonnenfeld |
| Writers | Ed Solomon, Ted Elliott (uncredited), Terry Rossio (uncredited) |
| Producers | Walter F. Parkes, Laurie MacDonald |
| Cinematography | Donald Peterman |
| Music | Danny Elfman |
| Edited By | Jim Miller |
| Production | Columbia Pictures, Amblin Entertainment, Parkes/MacDonald Productions |
| Distributed By | Sony Pictures Releasing |
Men in Black’s end-of-the-world plot makes almost no sense, and the movie is smart enough to sprint right past it. Nobody’s here for the plot. You’re here because Will Smith plays J like he’s been cracking jokes since birth, Tommy Lee Jones plays K like he’s never heard one, and every laugh lives in that gap. Vincent D’Onofrio plays a giant bug wearing a farmer like a borrowed suit, and his walk alone is worth the ticket. Rip Torn barking orders is perfect, and the tiny gun gag still lands. Linda Fiorentino gets a great setup and then mostly stands around, and the final bug fight looks like a cartoon. 98 minutes, $589 million worldwide on a reported $90M budget, and barely a wasted scene until that last one. A 7.8 because it’s a tight buddy comedy wearing a sci-fi costume. $2,629 says you put on sunglasses this week and click a pen at somebody’s face.
What works: Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones have perfect opposite energy, and the movie is short, fast and packed with weird alien details.
What doesn’t: Linda Fiorentino is wasted after a strong start, and the final fight with the giant bug looks cheap and rushed.
Who it’s for: Families who want a sci-fi comedy that kids and parents will both actually laugh at.
Spoilers
The galaxy everyone is hunting turns out to be hanging off a cat’s collar. After the bug is beaten, K reveals he has been training J as his replacement and has J wipe his memory so he can go home to the life he left behind.
Aliens live among us, mostly in New York, and a secret agency called the Men in Black keeps that quiet with black suits and memory-erasing gadgets. When NYPD cop James Edwards (Will Smith) chases down a suspect who runs way too fast and climbs way too well, veteran Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) decides this kid has potential. James gets recruited, renamed J and handed a suspiciously small gun. Meanwhile a giant, very rude bug crash-lands upstate and disguises itself as a farmer named Edgar (Vincent D'Onofrio). Barry Sonnenfeld directs. Ninety-eight minutes, one neuralyzer flash.
Anyone who suspects their neighbor is from another planet. They might be right.
| Tommy Lee Jones | Kevin Brown / Agent K |
| Will Smith | James Darrell Edwards III / Agent J |
| Linda Fiorentino | Doctor Laurel Weaver / Agent L |
| Vincent D'Onofrio | Edgar / The Bug |
| Rip Torn | Chief Zed |
| Tony Shalhoub | Jack Jeebs |
| Siobhan Fallon Hogan | Beatrice |
| Mike Nussbaum | Gentle Rosenberg |
| Jon Gries | Nick the van driver |
| Sergio Calderón | Jose |
| John Alexander | Mikey |
| Patrick Breen | Mr. Redgick |
| Becky Ann Baker | Mrs. Redgick |
| Carel Struycken | an Arquillian |
| Fredric Lehne | Agent Janus |
| Kent Faulcon | Second Lieutenant Jake Jensen |
| Richard Hamilton | Agent D |
| Ken Thorley | The Zap-Em Man |
| David Cross | Newton |
| Sean Whalen | a passport officer |
| Verne Troyer | the alien son |
| Harsh Nayyar | a news vendor |
| Bernard Gilkey | himself |
| Tim Blaney | Frank the Pug |
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 17 October 2026 DataBot +480 Numbers refreshed: Worldwide box office $589.4M; Domestic box office $250.7M; Opening weekend $51.1M; Profit / loss (est.) +$159.7M; Rotten Tomatoes 91%; CinemaScore B+; box office chart updated; RT 91% (92 reviews); Metacritic 71 / 100; CinemaScore B+; IMDb users 7.3 / 10 (673,958 votes); movie.guru score 7.3.
- (cur | prev) 12:00, 17 October 2026 DataBot +2,000 Profile created from Wikipedia and Box Office Mojo: cast, crew, release dates, budget, official trailer.