Will Smith Month! Men in Black
Written by NChick Sunday, 13 May 2012 22:00
Bumper art by Andrew Dickman
|
Doug's Official Facebook Page | Purchase Premium Membership Now! Only available till the end of April! |
Comments (171)
-
05.13.2012 - 22:21 | TheTannedOtaku
-
05.14.2012 - 19:23 | Haon
As much of a huge product-placement stuffed disappointment "Men in Black II" was, I have to admit that I still have a bit of a soft spot for the movie. I don't know if I'm just convincing myself that it's impossible for an MIB movie to be bad or what, but there are things about it that I kind of like. And please don't be so quick to dismiss "MIB3" Lindsay. From what I've gathered, it's going to be better then the second one.
-
05.13.2012 - 22:49 | FinalDragoon
If anything, you should just disregard MiB2 and just watch the animated series instead. It does everything you asked for and then some.
-
05.14.2012 - 03:25 | BooRat
Agreed! I loved the animated series! Why hasn't it been released on DVD yet!?
-
05.14.2012 - 09:02 | ladydiskette
I wonder if she will review "Bagger Vance" and then review "The Fresh Prince of BelAir" as the closing number to this theme month?
That would be cool if she did.
-
in prominent roles, has to do with the animated series. Frank the Pug and the Worms were all over it, and that's why you get them in the sequel.
-
I really didn't like this movie. I never thought it was funny enough to justify the silliness of it all, but there was something else (and I may be reading to much into it) there seemed to be this theme of conformity and "the goverment is always right" going though the movie. When Will Smith ask why they don't tell people about the aliens, he's flat out told that people aren't smart enough to handle it, and they have to protect us from knowlege. So if the goverment lies to us, or has to say, brainwash you and erase your memory, it's (as it even says in the song) for your own protection. And I know you'll say "you're taking it to seriously, it's just a silly movie" and maybe that's not the way the filmmakers meant it, but that just rubbed me the wrong way.
Anyone else get that from this movie, or am I just nuts? (On second thought, don't answer that.)
-
05.14.2012 - 04:54 | TryMeSee, you're just not smart enough to handle the truth.
...
Sorry, could not resist.
-
05.14.2012 - 05:13 | Taigan
I didn't take so much a of a government-coverup message from it. But I sure didn't like it.
-
05.14.2012 - 06:14 | Linkara
Actually, they do flat-out say they don't report to the government and they aren't a government agency.
-
05.14.2012 - 07:25 | ScutigeraColeoptrata
In the, frequently conflicting, mythology of the 'real world' Men in Black, they are often associated with the US government and a general paranoia surrounding said government. Even though they are not a government agency in the film, they look and act exactly like a government immigration agency. The allegory is so transparent I found it distracting even as a kid.
-
05.14.2012 - 12:16 | shoshannaNow imagine exactly what confused you about the movie, and mix it in with the age of six and watching it in a language that you only half understand.
-
05.15.2012 - 07:14 | 13secondstomidnight
Why did you find it distracting? It wasn't meant to be a thinly-veiled allegory or anyething, they ARE an immigration agency, just a technically unofficial galactic one (it's in their job description). I'm just confused with why the msin premise of the movie would distract you from the...movie...
??
-
05.14.2012 - 09:07 | Axel OsbourneWell yeah, but that either means the govenment knows about it and ignores them, they're an illegal outfit, or they ARE the real government, and the one we know(republicans, democrats, VOTING!) is just a TV show to keep us distracted (Ok, now I am reading to much into it) I think I would have like it better if it was played a little more serious (just a little) and the MIB was a little more ambiguous, with them trying to do the right thing, but still questioning their methods. But that's just me.
-
05.16.2012 - 00:05 | pinky75910
No, I think that's a valid point. Will Smith agrees with you for the majority of the movie before.. well before MIBII..
-
05.14.2012 - 07:20 | Winterstaryes and you know what for the most part K is right. His response to Will stands to me as one of the great movie Quotes.
A person is smart People are dumb, panicky, dangerous animals.
You might be able to handle it but the more people you gather together the dumber the group becomes as a whole.
-
05.14.2012 - 11:19 | Mr.Anderssson
I didn't get a "government is always right" message so much as "society is bullshit and everyone but me is stupid" message. The fact that they were an agency that controlled everything was incidental; they're the only smart people on the planet and its easy for them to work around the unwashed masses that is humanity.
-
05.15.2012 - 07:17 | 13secondstomidnightI got "society is bullshit and individuals are slaved to the masses which have the standard IQ of an American president from the late 20th century."
Which I agree with.
Although I'm not American, so I have a low opinion of American presidents from the last 100 years. The ones that weren't assassinated.
-
07.29.2012 - 14:14 | Crazy R
What the fuck is your major malfunction?
-
05.14.2012 - 00:22 | SamsneezeWith this, Will Smith Month feels very promising. I'm really looking forward to what's next.
-
05.14.2012 - 01:28 | WheathermanI don't know if you realise this, but MIB IS a comicbook movie.
-
05.14.2012 - 03:27 | BooRatYup, and the comic was a lot more darker and serious than the movies! With the MiB also dealing with the occult and demons along with aliens! And, they didn't have mind-wipers they had to kill or scare people into remaining quite about what they witnessed!
-
05.14.2012 - 01:30 | EarthboundXE
I'm still confused on how Tommy Lee Jones, a white man, and that white alien women made a black daughter in the second movie...
I bet it it was studio BS.
"Will Smith is black, so his love interest has to be as well, even if it doesn't make sense."
-
05.15.2012 - 07:19 | 13secondstomidnightNB: it wasn't his daughter, he just fell in love with the mother.
-
05.16.2012 - 21:53 | EarthboundXEIt has been a while since I've last seen it, but I guess you could be right, that alien was still super white though.
-
05.14.2012 - 01:46 | Cinnamon Scudworth
Aw, no mention of the animated series. (Season One is now available at Target, by the way. It just suddenly appeared, with no announcement.)
Movie 2 didn't bother me as much because with so much emphasis on Frank the Pug, the Worms and Crazy Jeebs, it was like another episode of the show.
-
05.14.2012 - 03:28 | BooRatholy crap they're finally releasing the animated series on DVD?! I need to get that! NOW!!
-
05.14.2012 - 07:46 | LilacElf82
WHAT?!?!
*runs off to Target to see the DVDs*
Thank you for that news!
-
05.14.2012 - 08:42 | Amesang
Did it suddenly appear? Or were we all just mindwiped?
-
05.14.2012 - 01:56 | WizardWill Smith shares a name with Mitt Romney? My mind, it is blown!
-
05.14.2012 - 02:08 | arcticwhaleblue
Yay! I love Will Smith, so seeing this makes me happy. I'm personally a fan of both Men in Black movies, but it's true that the second reuses much of what was good about the first. And I never had considered that before; how would they let that one guy in, when they were taking in all those West Point graduates? It's amazing that Will got In.
By the way, love those references to advertising in the background. I noticed those in The Avengers. Is The Lion King really still on Broadway?
I would notice the giant worm, too. Although I still think Will's speech about it is funny.
Look forward to more reviews, Lindsay!
-
"By the way, love those references to advertising in the background. I noticed those in The Avengers. Is The Lion King really still on Broadway?"
I seriously doubt the Lion King posters in the background in the Avengers was product placement; Lion King is a Disney play based on a Disney movie playing at the Disney Theater in Times Square, and Avengers is from Disney competitors Paramount-Marvel. I'd say the Lion King posters was just a bit of ambiance to remind the audience that, yeah, this really is New York getting the ever-loving crap kicked out of it once again (What the hell does it say about us that all these post-9/11 blockbusters seem to fuck up New York more regularly than Godzilla used to tear through Tokyo?)
Now all those Acuras parked with the logos prominently facing the camera, on the other hand...,
-
05.14.2012 - 12:28 | arcticwhaleblueDon't forget Farmers Insurance!
Thanks for the information. I seriously never expected to see The Lion King there, so seeing it was a WTF moment. I had wondered if it was supposed to date The Avengers to a particular time period, but it probably was there to show classic New York imagery.
-
05.15.2012 - 11:21 | bejammin2000Dude. Disney OWNS Marvel wholesale. They let Paramount distribute this film because the contract with Marvel Films was created before the purchase and they allowed them to do so, but Avengers was the first film produced by Disney Studios.
-
05.14.2012 - 02:11 | Alex WeitzmanOne wonders if perhaps the fact that Fiorentino won her role in the first MiB in a game of cards had anything to do with her not getting invited back for the sequel.
So, next, Wild Wild West. Involuntary shudders ahoy. You should bring up the fact that Wild Wild West pretty much stole its climax from the Batman: The Animated Series episode "Showdown".
-
05.14.2012 - 02:23 | Batmat01
Men In Black is one of my top 30 favorite movies of all time.
-
05.14.2012 - 02:26 | Javomen in black is comic book movie.
-
men in back had a tv show on nick of all places it had good art and some really good storys
you shold try and find an episode ity shows what the sequel could of done
-
05.14.2012 - 03:30 | BooRatI thought it was on the WB at 1st?
-
05.14.2012 - 02:32 | nowhere
Personally, I don't much care for Will Smith but Men In Black really is a fun movie. It's also a GOOD movie for the reasons you go through in the review. The great thing about the chemistry between Tommy Lee Jones' and Smith's characters (actually they have great chemistry as actors here too) is that the realationship with Jones' character keeps Smith's from being insufferable and smug, as he manages to be in Wild Wild West for example.
Also, thank you for giving us an example of a good film with Rip Torn in it to help us purge our minds of Freddy Got Fingered.
-
05.14.2012 - 02:46 | ravenelit1the first was the best of the two movies and the second was (ok)
and I looking forward to see a hold mouth of you NC
-
05.14.2012 - 02:58 | ohe
Yeeeah, that little disc was probably a hard drive. "Imagine a CD that can be played by itself and holds a million songs." What a shame that people are still too bad with the technical stuff to lose all that casing.
But... what about those flash drives then? Did the Japanese beat the aliens?
-
05.14.2012 - 06:17 | LinkaraAaaactually it was a mini-disc. They were a thing for a while in the late 90s and early-2000s, but flash cards, flash drives, and other digital media pretty much shoved mini-discs aside.
-
05.14.2012 - 03:14 | Shinigami
I remember seeing first MiB in opening night and movie theater was full of people in black suits and with sun glasses and super soakers.
-
05.14.2012 - 03:22 | BooRatI liked MiB 1 and part 2 was a disappointment to me because it looked like a movie made with a half written script since characters and plot point just show up and disappear with no explanation! Like I know a lot of people didn't like Johnny Knoxville's character but did any one else notice that at about halfway threw the movie he is just gone. The last we HEAR of him is the worm guys saying he shot their place up and kidnapped the girl!? After that he doesn't show up again and there's no deleted scene showing what happened to him after that! Did the villain woman eat him was he killed by Jay or Kay during the final show down!? Where did all the other Agents go at the end after the headquarters was captured?!
The Men in Black Animated Series was a better sequel to the 1st movie than this was! And it just ignored the ending to the 1st movie with Kay being nuralized!
Ok, I like Wild Wild West! I don't get every one's hate-on they got for it!?
-
05.14.2012 - 16:56 | Kryss LaBrynI really like WWWest too. Yes it can be pretty goofy, but I do find it really entertaining too.
-
05.14.2012 - 03:37 | Sebastian_Havelock
I like that it doesn't play to the lowest common denominator. So many films have been ruined because of Joanne and Cletus.
-
05.14.2012 - 04:37 | Blizz3112
"Shut up, Pitbull..." Loved that... ;-)
Yeah, I kind of agree for it being cheap that they just discard characters for the sake of reentering one, and adding people in shows or movies that don't have any place to be there, only cause they're famous...
-
05.14.2012 - 04:48 | Dalek_Explain!
The Wild Wild West is next? I thought That Scifi Guy already covered that movie.
-
05.14.2012 - 05:03 | GoldenSimatar
I just hope Will Smith drowns out the Tom Green....I still got the 'daddy would you like some sausage' and the 'Bum-Bum' song playing in my head after I saw your Onacitizen crossover.
-
05.14.2012 - 05:17 | Michster
Nice review(s), Nchick. Allthough I have to say I personally didn't find "nod your head/black suits coming" not all that bad. Sure the chorus wasn't good, but it had decent lyrics and a pretty good beat.
Also hoping you'll look over the animated MIB series.
-
I really didn't like either movie. I remember being really psyched by the trailers for the first one, but when I went to see it I was really disappointed. I think it's mostly that a movie for me is all about the story, and the story of the first movie just didn't hold up. What was so important about "The Galaxy?" Why did the bug want it? Just too many plot holes for me to enjoy.
Now I remember that I really liked the animated series that came out between movies. I can't remember much about it to say WHY I liked it, but it seemed to hang together much better than the movie. And your wish that that universe could have made it as a franchise? Well, there you go! If nothing else, it's important to note that the animated series is why the worm guys and the guy with the regenerating head were shoehorned into the 2nd movie. They'd become recurring characters in the animated series. I don't remember the pug dog in the animated version (at least not BEFORE the 2nd movie) so I'm not sure if he can be blamed on that also.
-
When I first saw the guy with the second head, I remember thinking "Hey! Isn't that a symbiote or something, like in the cartoon?". At times, MIB2 feels like a (bad) movie adaptation of the (pretty neat) animated series, rather than a sequel to MIB.
I know I went out of the theater in a terrible mood. At least, I enjoyed this review.
-
05.14.2012 - 05:57 | FlaregunFirst of all, a couple of nitpicks:
Doesn't a "positive comparison" infer the thing your talking about is superior to the thing you're comparing it with? In other words, a "positive comparison" with Transformers II would suggest MIB II did what it did better than Transformers II did, would it not?
Also, yeah, that "this will replace CDs soon" line is pretty easy to explain away if you just interpret it that what Tommy Lee Jones is holding up is the magical element at the heart of the micro-hard drive that makes it possible for iPods to hold billions of songs.
Can't say I was really surprised to see the co-writing credit for this review: while the vast majority sounded very much like the N Chick's analytical-yet-snarky style, for all of the brief tangents into the tie-in theme songs I was hearing Todd's voice in my head (especially "Shut up, Pitbull")
-
05.14.2012 - 06:19 | LinkaraNooo, what he was holding up was a mini-disc. Many believed at the time that they'd replace CDs. They didn't.
-
05.14.2012 - 06:58 | Blizz3112It's funny what they assumed in a lot of futuristic movies, series or even comics.
Back to the Future was also such film that introduced technology (hover boards and self-lacing boots) that would come along around this time era... but as far as we've seen, there's still no examples of those products fully realized yet...
And yet in Star Trek TNG they even introduced the first forms of the electronical pads... which is funny, considering the creators didn't even consider we would be so quick in creating them in this era...
I think it might be fun to look at futuristic series, movies and/or comics, and see what the creators predicted and eventually even became true and which were totally a dud... :-P
-
05.15.2012 - 20:17 | BloodrealmSame with the original Star Trek series, with the automatic doors. Those were just a couple of guys with pulleys behind the set, but now we have them, and they're commonplace, just like in the show.
Oh, and speaking of looking at what will and won't come to pass by the setting's time, in the Star Trek-centred episode of Futurama, Fry states that people could learn a lot about having a better society in the (relative) future from Star Trek (the Federation being a society without money, people helping eachother), and Leela points out that ST is set ~700 years in the past (Futurama being set in early 31st century, and still having a very commercialized society).
-
05.14.2012 - 06:00 | alexthed
Yeah, I remember seeing both movies in theaters. I actually saw the first one twice. I saw the second one, and good gravy I was disappointed. And I was 14! I was the target audience!
Also, Lindsay's disappointed that Patrick Warburton doesn't act like a person. I wonder how Patrick Warburton doesn't act funny.
-
While I think all that mr Smith touches turns to suck, this is the sole exception. He works in this almost only because of Tommy Lee Jones, who just commands every scene he's in. Will is great as the wide eyed noob and gets in a few good one liners as well. Who could forget his "Hey! Old guys." That always did it for me.
And that's the same reason why it doesn't work in the sequel. Will Smith can't pull off world weary, bitter agent. Not in the way Jones did anyway. And when Jones returns it's all the more obvious. Add to the fact that their interplay from doesn't work even half as well with two guys basically doing the same part.
To me, the only point to watch the sequel is the opening ten minutes with the agents (not the part with Lara Flynn Boyle).
Sure it doesn't make sense in-universe wise but Patrick Warburton is simply glorious in his part as agent T(?). Few people could pull off playing that kind of thick headed moron and a part of me wishes he'd been in it for the long run.
Only registered users can write comments!
Powered by Compojoom comment 4.2
Speaking of prince what movie was Will in Victorian garb?