Men in Blacks - The Superbit Collection

Columbia Tristar’s Superbit library has a couple of welcome new titles in the two Men in Black films.

Barry Sonnenfeld’s comic book tales of a super secret US law enforcement were both big hits, though the first film is not surprisingly the better of the two. Both movies looked terrific on their initial DVD release and as is usual (though not a given) with the Superbit collection, they’re nothing short of spectacular in their new, high bit rate versions.

Maybe you can go home again!

Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones star in both films, the second of which is mostly a remake of the first - not that that’s necessarily a bad thing.

The first MIB sees Jones recruit Smith to the MIB unit to fight a vicious alien bug bent on assassinating some high powered alien dignitaries. It becomes a race against time to see whether the MIB or the bug (Vincent D’Onofrio) can find a hidden galaxy first.

There isn’t really a love story here, unlike in MIB II, though we do have Linda Fiorentino along as a medical examiner whose life is threatened by the big bad bug. And that’s fine; a love interest would have slowed down the action and gotten in the way of the visual lunacy.

There’s plenty of action, lots of gags and laughs, and fans of digital special effects will have a great time watching the wizardry.

And the films never take themselves too seriously, though the actors play their parts straight. Jones, in particular, is delightful as his tough guy image is lampooned.

MIB II eschews the big and evil alien bug in place of a weirdly tentacled critter who in human form is Lara Flynn Boyle. She’s after the light of Zartha, which she believes is on Earth despite the MIB's prevailing opinion that it left the planet many years before.

No one really knows what to do this time, how to stop the menace from outer space, so they’re forced to “deneuralize” Agent K (Jones), who retired at theFrank the Pug trying to be J’s new partner. There's some pretty funny stuff there.

Meanwhile, the MIB headquarters is under attack and time is running out for the intrepid MIB to save the Earth.

They’re both pretty good yarns overall, though I is better than II if only for the fact that it’s new material and not a sequel. Still, the things that were most popular about the original, such as a fast and specialized car (It’s a beautiful Mercedes Benz E class in MIB II), Frank the Pug, the hedonistic worm creatures and Tony Shaloub’s Jeebs, are all back and in some cases their parts have been expanded (or even separated). Oh, and as mentioned, J (Smith) gets a love interest this time around, a witness named Laura Vasquez (Rosario Dawson)

Both movies treat the audience to neat aliens, eye popping special effects, and good natured fun.

Smith and Jones make a good team and it’s interesting to see their roles reversed, then reverse again as K takes over as "alpha Male in Black."

The Superbit DVD quality for both films is excellent, and since this is the Superbit Collection, Columbia Tristar isn’t inflicting separate anamorphic widescreen and Pan&Scan versions on the public as it did with MIB II. Yessiree, the DVD’s are only released in anamorphic widescreen, 16x9 TV compatible, and that’s just fine with us.

Not surprisingly, video quality for both titles is excellent, sharp and bright and colorful with terrific depth. These are two titles that would make excellent demo discs.

Audio choices, as usual with the Superbits, is Dolby Digital 5.1 and dts surround and it’s also excellent, with good use of the surround channels and nice rumbling bass.

As usual with Superbit titles, there are no extras, and that’s also fine with us as well. The original releases had plenty of extras (and excellent audio/video quality as well), so if you want bonus material, that’s where to look.

But audio/videophiles more concerned with the ultimate home theater experience will find these two releases a true joy.

Men in Black, the Superbit Edition, from Columbia Tristar Home Video
98 min. anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1, 16x9 TV compatible) Dolby Digital and dts 5.1 surround
Starring Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith, Vincent D’Onofrio, Linda Fiorentino, Rip Torn
Produced by Walter F. Parkes and Laurie MacDonald
Written by Ed Solomon, Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld

Men In Black II, the Superbit Edition, from Columbia Tristar Home Video
88 min. anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1, 16x9 TV compatible), Dolby Digital and dts 5.1 surround
Starring Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, Lara Flynn Boyle, Rip Torn, Rosario Dawson, Tony Shalhoub
Produced by Walter F. Parkes and Laurie MacDonald,
Written by Robert Gordon and Barry Fanaro, directed by Barry Sonenfeld

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