Men in Black (movie)

Men in Black is a 1997 science fiction comedy action film directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, starring Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith and Vincent D'Onofrio. The film was based on the comic books of Lowell Cunningham and featuring the creature animation of Rick Baker.

Plot details

A secretive agency, originally part of the government but now apparently a private organization ("the government asks too many questions", explains Agent K), allows aliens onto the planet and monitors them while here. The movie follows an NYPD officer (Will Smith) as he becomes a part of MiB, and his first major mission. Tommy Lee Jones plays 'K', a senior MiB agent who guides 'J' (the code-name assigned to Smith) as he learns the ropes.

Representatives of this agency wear sunglasses and dark suits, and appear at UFO landing sites, similar to reported Men In Black. Instead of intimidating or threatening witnesses, the MiB use devices known as Neuralyzers to wipe their memories and suggest more mundane causes to the encounter (or anything else the agents think of). Neuralyzers are typically the size and shape of an oversized pen (although a giant version is seen in the second movie hidden in the Statue of Liberty's torch), and can be set to erase memories as far back as several years. Neuralizers are also used on agents who leave the organization for any reason. The MiB's sunglasses protect them from the effects of the Neuralyzer.

A Bug (an alien species, similar in many ways to a very large cockroach) is trying to steal a tiny galaxy from another alien—whose government is willing to have the earth destroyed rather than let this galaxy fall into the hands of the Bugs. Eventually, the Galaxy is recovered, and K asks J to neuralyze him so that he can retire.

Cast and roles include