Throughout April, we’re counting down to the release of Marvel’s Iron Man 3 with our picks for the Greatest Comic Book Movies of All Time; here’s #17…
Men in Black, 1997.
Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld.
Starring Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith, Vincent D’Onofrio, Linda Fiorentino, Rip Torn, Tony Shalhoub and Mike Nussbaum.
While Joel Schumacher was all but killing the superhero genre with the release of Batman & Robin in the summer of 1997, director Barry Sonnenfeld was enjoying huge success with another comic book adaptation as Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones fought to protect the earth from the scum of the universe as Agents J and K in the sci-fi comedy blockbuster Men in Black.
Based upon Lowell Cunningham’s series The Men in Black from Aircel Comics (which has since been absorbed into Marvel), the film proved to be a smash hit with audiences, banking just under $589 million at the global box office to become the then highest-grossing comic book adaptation – a position it would hold until the release of Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man in 2002. It was also both the first Marvel property to receive an Academy Award nomination (receiving 3 in total), and the first Marvel property to win an Oscar, with Rick Baker and David LeRoy Anderson honoured with Best Makeup.
Smith and Jones donned the black suits again in 2002 for the less-successful follow-up Men in Black II, before returning last year alongside Josh Brolin’s younger Agent K in Men in Black 3, which pulled in an impressive $624 million, resulting in Columbia Pictures giving the green light to Men in Black 4.
Keep up to date with our entire countdown here.
Holy Franchise, Batman! Bringing the Caped Crusader to the Screen – Available now via Amazon.co.uk
Originally published April 9, 2013. Updated November 30, 2022.
