Men in Black

In the wake of the new wave of sci-fi films come the film parodies. I recently saw Tim Burton's personal and bombastic "Mars Attacks!". Now director Barry Sonnenfeld is out with Men in Black, which upholds the tradition of spoof films: the film runs the obligatory hour and a half and the plot is decidedly easy to follow.

Tommy Lee Jones is super-cool as the super-secret agent Mr. K, who works for an agency so secret that not even the president knows of its existence in Manhattan. A capable but anti-authoritarian policeman is recruited by the intelligence department and changes his identity to Mr. J, Mr. K's new partner. They are the Men in Black, MiB, and their task is to ensure the Earth's stability in relation to the large group of aliens who inhabit our planet and pass themselves off as humans. Mr. J and Mr. K are given an urgent assignment: the whole Earth is in danger if an interplanetary crisis is not averted. The pair, plus the right equipment, immediately throw themselves into the hunt for the culprit.

The film's good idea is entirely its own, no plundering here, so it is really a pity that the story has not been developed further. On the other hand, the parody is marked by great visual and verbal inventiveness. Jokes fly thick and fast. I never fell off my seat laughing. Instead I sat giggling and chuckling most of the time.