Watch The Men In Black Movies In Order
Based on the Malibu/Marvel comic book series, Men In Black is a sci-fi action comedy franchise that follows the adventures of a group of secret agents tasked with monitoring extraterrestrial activities on Earth.
Four Men in Black movies have been released so far, including the original trilogy and the 2019 reboot—though with rumours of a fifth instalment doing the round online every now and then, there's a good chance the story is far from over. Whether you’re waiting patiently for news on that or looking to dive into the franchise for the first time, we’ve got you covered.
Read on to discover more and hit the links to find out where to stream them on services like AppleTV, Netflix, Prime Video and elsewhere.
Boasting a megahit song and one of the biggest stars of the ‘90s alongside a recent Oscar winner in Tommy Lee Jones, Men In Black quickly became a cultural phenomenon upon release in 1997—and if you love the attitude of a ‘90s disaster movies (think Independence Day) and the special effects of a gross out creature feature (think Eight Legged Freaks), you’re in for a real treat on both counts.
The story centres on Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones), a seasoned member of a secret government agency who must join forces with a recently recruited NYPD officer (Will Smith) in order to stop an intergalactic terrorist from stealing a galaxy hidden in a jewel. The movie went on to become the third highest grossing of the year, losing out to the mighty Titanic and coming just short of The Lost World: Jurassic Park.
In 2002, a landmark year for movie sequels (The Two Towers, Chamber of Secrets and Attack of the Clones all arrived), Agents K and J returned In Men In Black II. The critical response to this one was a bit less generous, it’s fair to say, but if you like a little early ‘00s nostalgia (Johnny Knoxville, Michael Jackson and Martha Stewart all appear), you might get a real kick out of it.
The story picks up a few years later, with J now an experienced member of the agency. But when a deadly alien shapeshifter (played by Lara Flynn Boyle) arrives, Agent K must come out of retirement to help out.
The third movie, Men In Black 3, uses time travel to dive deeper into Agent J and K’s friendship, the history of the agency, and various other kinds of MIB lore—so naturally, if you’re a fan of the franchise and enjoy the fish-out-of-water, period antics of movies like Back to the Future, Idiocracy (also written by Etan Cohen) and Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, you'll probably really vibe with it.
For the plot, Agent J travels back to 1969 to team up with a younger Agent K (played by Josh Brolin) in order to prevent Boris the Animal, an alien assassin, from killing him and changing the course of history. Bill Hader, Emma Thompson and Jermaine Clement lead a wonderful supporting cast.
In 2019, the franchise released its first spin-off movie, Men In Black: International—which was directed by F. Gary Gray and featured a whole new host of characters. The story revolves around Agent M (Tessa Thompson) and Agent H (Chris Hemsworth), who must work together to stop a deadly new threat while location-hopping through London, Marrakech and Paris.
The reboot movie also features Rebecca Ferguson, Rafe Spall, Emma Thompson, and Liam Neeson. Unfortunately, this one is not the best loved entry in the series, but if you liked the chemistry between Hemsworth and Thompson in Thor: Ragnarok (released just two years earlier), you might be keen to see them together on screen again here. The same might go for fans of more globe-hopping franchises, like Bourne or Mission: Impossible.
