Men In Black... a sci-fi picture not so much cashing in on the recent resurgence of alien movies as making sport of it. Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith star as Agent Kay and Agent Jay, respectively. Their mission? To keep the aliens who reside on Earth under control and under wraps. The two leads have wonderful chemistry, and I'd love to see more of them together. While there's not much of a story (a giant bug in human form may cause the destruction of our planet), there is charm and inventiveness to spare. Even the ending, which some may feel is anticlimactic, is at least not the overblown showdown I expected and feared. The filmmakers are smart enough to let the picture coast on the charm of Smith and Jones and not get bogged down in smoke and mirrors, although no expense was spared for its special effects.

I wish I had something more substantial to say about the film than I did back in 1997, but Men in Black remains an extremely enjoyable hunk of fluff that invites not a shred of introspection. All the better that I can get on with the DVD portion of this review, anyhow.

The film comes in two flavours on digital disc, and I was fortunate enough to receive the glorious--i.e. take any reservations expressed herein with a grain of salt--Limited Edition (as opposed to the "Collector's Series") as my review copy. For the record, the CS contains a widescreen-only presentation, commentary by director Barry Sonnenfeld and Jones, deleted scenes, a '97 promotional featurette, "Metamorphosis of Men in Black" making-of, a multi-angle effects demonstration for the "Tunnel Scene," art galleries, character animation tests, Will Smith's title music video, "talent files," and theatrical trailers. That's an awful lot of stuff for $12 less than the LE, a sturdily packaged double-discer replete with 12-page booklet and autographed drawing. (A handful of these posters have been signed authentically by Sonnenfeld and monster make-up guru Rick Baker.)

So is it worth it to pay the extra cash? Yes, he said, based on his experiences with the LE versus his knowledge of the CS. Similar to the cheeky intro on Fight Club, the first thing one sees upon inserting Disc One is a Disney-style green copyright warning that has been rejiggered as a message from MIB headquarters. Then, animated menus (which resemble those found on any of the recent Bond DVDs designed by 1K), most of whose options lead to "insert disc two" dead ends.

On the video end of things, the LE offers both widescreen and fullscreen versions on the same side of an RSDL platter. Surprisingly, given the THX-approved LaserDisc's standard-bearing reputation, the 1.85:1, 16x9-enhanced letterboxed transfer is not of reference quality, but it's nowhere close to a washout, either. The image is a hair too soft and shadow detail often wanes, especially in the desert-set nighttime opening sequence. On the positive hand, colours are brilliant, and the following may be attributable to the downconversion capabilities of my machine: the fullscreen version is clearer overall and not as prone to "break-up," although by selecting this viewing option, one sacrifices crucial side information during CGI-enhanced scenes.

The Dolby Digital 5.1 sound will delight home theatre owners for years to come. Danny Elfman's scores are famed for their aggressive surround environments; his music for Men in Black really pumps, and instruments are noticeably divvied up among the speakers. The rear channels get an aerobic workout--I did expect a more 360 degree spectacle when Will Smith accidentally lets loose the space-ball, however. The LFE channel is aggressively exploited several times throughout the film; listen to chapter 26, when Edgar Bug's ship crash-lands, for earthquake bass. A Dolby Surround track is also included. (Unfortunately, a DTS mix is only available on the CS.)

Sonnenfeld and Jones' "visual commentary," a Columbia trademark, contains the added gimmick of a "lightpen" that allows Sonnenfeld to highlight key elements of a shot. (FYI, it draws in black ink.) Jones is proud of Men in Black, which precedes his curmudgeonly reputation, and he seems genuinely interested in knowing how certain things were achieved as he gently prods Sonnenfeld for information. Sonnenfeld repeats himself many times over on a second, LE-exclusive (and audio-only) commentary ostensibly devoted to the effects work, where his contribution has been combined with individually recorded observations from Baker (his voice strangely reverberating) and F/X coordinators Eric Brevig, John Andrew, Jr., and Rob Coleman. I really enjoyed their dialogue, as it psyched me for supplements that I'll get to in a moment; both commentaries are handily indexed by topic at the main menu.

Disc Two:

Here, we have two groups: Creating MiB and Meet the MiB. The former is where the good stuff lies.

Creating MiB

• Two multi-angle visual effects deconstructions, featuring optional commentary (turn it on--they're monotonous without it) from the techies. Barry Sonnenfeld first tells us that we'll be shown one of two complex sequences ("Tunnel Scene" and "Edgar Bug fight" are the choices) in its five stages of development, similar to the levels of animation demo found on A Bug's Life: Collector's Edition. I'm amazed at how polished it all ends up appearing in the end.
• "Metamorphosis of MiB" is a revealing 23-minute documentary that features new interviews with Barry Sonnenfeld as well as clips from the initial press junket and some glimpses of the fabled "editor's cut," which had a different plot to the finished movie! I do wish that writer Ed Solomon had participated, as everybody and their grandmother takes credit for Men in Black's screenplay.
• Five alternate or deleted scenes; it was fascinating to see the "bouncing ball" bit sans bouncing ball.
• "Art and Animation" is a fruitful category indeed. Sonnenfeld again intros a section by explaining the multi-angle capabilities of the "Character Animation Studies", admittedly the weakest subfolder of this lot because it goes by so fast. "Creatures: Concept to Completion" allows us to advance through sketches (which "morph" from one to the next!), but they forgot to install a "back" button. The "Conceptual Art Gallery" is a place to appreciate the efforts of MiB's ingenious designers. "Storyboard Comparisons" splits the screen in half so that we can compare panels for "Saucer Crash," "Edgar Becomes Bug," and "Birthing Alien" with their filmed counterparts. In a few cases, I actually preferred the angle conceived on paper. Lastly, a full "Storyboard Gallery" complements the other production sketch collections.
• A "Photo Gallery" and "Editing Workshop" finish off Creating MiB. In the latter, we choose from "takes" of previously assembled mini-edits to devise our own cut of "The Farmhouse," "The Morgue," and/or "Jay's MiB tryout." Every conceivable calculation for each is already contained on the DVD, so your player doesn't have to pause and perform the selections itself. Though the kids are probably gonna dig it, I felt that too much of the work had already been done for us, spoiling any opportunity for truly enlightening experimentation--keep in mind, this is a film school graduate talking.

Meet the MiB

Fun and addictive DVD-ROM material (a training centre, a virtual tour of MiB headquarters, a video game, and Columbia Tri-Star weblinks) is the final something that helps propel this package out of this world.-Bill Chambers