DVD. pub: Columbia CDR 24510. 94 minutes plus loads of extras. Price: £ 4.99 (UK) when I bought it which has to be a bargain). Stars: Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith, Linda Fiorentino, Vincent D'Onofrio and Rip Torn.

check out website: www.che.co.uk

Can't beat a good bargain and getting the first 'Men In Black' film with assorted extras including an audio commentary from director Barry Sonnenfeld and actor Tommy Lee Jones might give some idea where it went so wrong in the sequel. Oddly enough, it did. Jones indicates places like the Mexicans at the border were his and not in the script simply because no one knew he could speak Mexican. There's one thing in adding spontaneity while filming, quite another in manipulating the script before filming. Anyway, let's forget the second film as I'm not here to crucify it but enjoy the original.



For those who missed it, 'Men In Black' is about a team of people who keep the coming and going of alien life-forms on this planet orderly and quietly wipe the memories of any human encounters with a snazzy flashpen. When Agent (actor Tommy Lee Jones) Kay's partner wants to retire, he recruits Agent Jay (actor Will Smith) and they are both thrown into a critical situation when the world could be destroyed at any moment unless they recover a gem stolen by an alien bug terrorist.

Did I say this was also a comedy? I think without some comedic elements involved to counter the seriousness, this film would have been far too grim. As it is, this film is still quite a delight to watch as none of it is forced and has a logical sense.

The extras are quite something else and all squashed onto one DVD showing how things like the fast car sequence were filmed to alternative scenes that were never used. Shame there weren't any out-takes although there's plenty of everything else to keep you amused and on a learning curve. At this price, you can't really miss unless you see a bright light flash first.

GF Willmetts