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 Men in Black comic book series by Lowell Cunningham, originally published by Aircel Comics. The film featured the creature effects and makeup of Rick Baker. The film was released on July 2, 1997 by Columbia Pictures and grossed over $587 million worldwide against a $90 million budget. It is currently the 49th highest grossing film of all time. It was followed by a sequel, Men in Black II, in 2002, and an animated series, simply titled Men in Black: The Series, which aired on the Kids' WB channel from 1997 through 2001.

Plot

Setting

The MIB, a top-secret agency that polices, monitors and directs alien activity on Earth, has established the Earth as an apolitical "neutral zone" for alien refugees (as Agent K explains, like Casablanca with no Nazis). MIB agents have no identity or any public record of existence, and the MIB agency answers to no government. The funding for their agency comes from the patents they own on technology confiscated from aliens, such as velcro, microwave ovens, and liposuction. Any memory of MIB activity upon "mustering out" of the MIB is erased and a new identity is created for the departing agent. Into this strange world is ushered the initially skeptical Det/Sgt James Edwards (Smith), an NYPD officer, as he becomes Agent J, one of the newest MIB personnel. Tommy Lee Jones plays K, a senior MIB agent who recruits and guides J as he learns the ropes.

MIB agents wear sunglasses and dark suits, and appear at UFO landing sites, similar to paranormal reports of real-world Men in Black. Since the MIB are a secret organization, no evidence of their existence can be left. Instead of intimidating or threatening witnesses, the MIB use devices known as "Neuralyzers" to wipe witnesses' memories of what they have seen, and replace the memories with more mundane explanations, such as swamp gas or weather balloons. Neuralyzers are also used on agents who leave the organization for any reason. The MIB's sunglasses protect them from the effects of the Neuralyzer. K and J drive around in a seemingly inconspicuous black car, which J initially identifies as a Ford 'POS' (piece of shit), a 1987 Ford LTD Crown VictoriaInternet Movie Car Database 1987 Ford LTD Crown Victoria, which, with the press of a red button on the gear stick transforms into a flying rocket car.