Men in Black | When Escapist Movies still had Good Writing

Men in Black is a remnant of a better era of the summer blockbuster, in particular the writing represents a sort of lost art that few modern blockbusters can rival. Thoughtful intention on the page, with great dialogue and scenes of humor that do far more than just make us laugh.

Check out my website:

Help me make more videos:

Tip Jar:

Hang out with me live:

Follow me:

[daniel_netzel]

Well I didn't expect some of these comments to become focused on such a semantic angle, but for those confused about the usage of the term B-movies: That term doesn't mean what it used to. There are no A and B films anymore, that system faded from use throughout the 70's and 80's. Partially because the whole Double Feature showing became less popular, partly because films on average became more expensive as a whole, and because the schlock entertainment normally used in the B-movie content ended up making even more money than the A-films, so the system just kind of died out, and in many ways gave birth to the modern blockbuster. Just like "indie music" can be expensive, it's more of a term for genre or style than anything else these days. I briefly discuss this at the start of the video, and maybe should have discussed it in further detail, but this is a video that was meant to discuss Men in Black's screenwriting and not the entire thorough history of Hollywood's production over the last century and change, so hopefully that clears that up.

[duckerke]

I watch Men In Black every few years and it always holds up. So many quotable lines, fun set pieces and relatable characters. Such a pity Linda Fiorentino was done dirty by Hollywood, she was so great in this.

[UmbrellaGent]

I don't think nowadays you'd see anyone be allowed to give such an amazingly bizarre villain performance as that of Vincent D'Onofrio's.

[ennuiblue]

There is a saying "you have to be really smart to do 'stupid' right" (probably butchered that)

[HonestWatchReviewsHWR]

I couldn't agree more, on both of the main points of this video. I miss B-movies that had some depth and actually substance to them. Even when it wasn't immediately apparent, such as with MIB. This for me is exactly what the problem is with all of these remakes/reboots etc. They only focus on the surface level elements of what the original films were about and miss out the nuance that made them great in the first place.

[afroinness]

Love your work as always, you're the best doing these types of videos imo. Interesting new takes on movies that dont get talked about enough these days. I agree with everything 100 percent, i wish movies looked like movies again too 😢

[SPOCK]

as soon as i hear that theme i start dancing, even after all these years

[bobthegrinch]

Loved this video. The OG film is great. I know that it was probably more because of budget limitations than ambition, but I think it's a real less is more film. The first is mostly filmed on real locations and the whole point is trying not to reveal too much of the alien stuff so it's more subtle and only shows you what it needs to and lets your imagination fill in some of the gaps. The sequels got bigger budgets and tried to do too much or follow cinematic trends incorporating wire-fu (Tommy Lee Jones at one point jumps about 7 feet in the air in 2) and CGI on characters that could've worked without it.

[jasonblalock]

7:00 The cartoon retcon aside, I think this scene is even more subtle. I'm pretty sure the correct choice is to never shoot, since little Tiffany isn't doing anything overtly hostile. Walking While Smart isn't a crime. J correctly recognizes context and doesn't automatically shoot the "monsters, " which is good, but still felt compelled to shoot *something* - hence the worried reaction from Zed.

Plus, I kind of love the implication that the MIBs were knowingly wasting all the military guys' time, since they would never ever be picked. They were basically just there to be NPCs in a game made for J. That's cold.

(Also Ford's "WE - ARE GOING - TO DIE-EE 😡" is one of my all-time favorite line reads in anything ever.)

[alexpolicastro]

Great video and excellent insight into what makes a great B-movie. Thanks for continuing to make great posts.

[friendformationbot]

MIB had a budget of 90 mil in 1997 and involved the top tiers of staff, production, and talent. it was never and is not now anywhere near the category of "B movies". do you also think Ghostbusters is a B movie? Back to the Future? the Neverending Story?

[Nodimer]

I absolutely love your vision for these videos Daniel. I know it's hard, but I hope to see more of your takes in the future.

[NessAmiibo]

the $90mil budget "b-movie" with Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones! Words have MEANING

[ThadeusGroovewood]

Ah, the good old days. It's funny that the formula for a popcorn movie hasn't changed in decades, but the the execution has been diluted to piss water. Nice job, this was a fun video.

[runtheptnite]

Excellent. I saw it in-theaters as a kid and enjoyed it as fun escapism, but over the years I've been surprised at how much it's stuck with me - not just a funny line or a cool action sequence, but its premise, scenarios, characters, gadgets, etc.. Its world: realized, its characters: fleshed-out, its humor: clever. Much hidden depth in MiB.

[adamcrofts]

thankyou Daniel, I agree with you. I recently watched Reality and was awestruck.

[uqgrnlo]

MIB is such a complete movie for me. It's one of those movies that's just pure entertainment from start to finish

[thebettybassettproduction]

Omg! A MIB nerd! Thanks for a lovely review. ❤

[Gargarks]

MiB 3 was amazing, you hush. But for real, well thought out and enjoyable video. Thanks for sharing.

[Mopoe]

This is definitely not a B-movie lol. It had a 90 million dollar budget in 1997. Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith were two of the most famous actors in the world at that time.