Darkseid Reviews

The DC Universe is packed with powerful entities that could destroy worlds at a time, but none are as feared or brilliantly executed as Darkseid, Lord of the war planet Apokolips. The evil god has had quite a legacy crafted for himself since being created by Jack Kirby. Not too shabby for a character that first appeared in a Jimmy Olsen book, eh?

Darkseid's motivations are rather simple - conquer and control all life by unlocking and solving the Anti-Life Equation, something DC fans saw him achieve in last summer's Final Crisis event. Though the storyline technically took the New God's life, it's hard to imagine the heroes of DC won't find themselves face to face with the ultimate embodiment of evil at some point down the road.

Perhaps the most appealing trait of Darkseid is his lack of interest in direct, physical confrontation. The being formerly known as Prince Uxas has immense strength, endurance and eye beams that can disintegrate, teleport or torture opponents, yet he chooses to manipulate events from the shadows, allowing his minions to act on his behalf. Darkseid's involvement with the New Gods, including his rivalry with the Highfather, the planet New Genesis and the diplomatic exchanges of sons Orion and Mister Miracle add multiple layers to a being that might otherwise be yet another generic worldwide threat. We're certainly glad DC wouldn't allow Kirby to kill off this fantastic villain as he originally planned. Decades of spectacular tales would have been left on the table otherwise.

A six-issue independent comic book baked in hyperviolence about a group of (largely Aryan) secretive agents that use any means necessary to hide the existence of the supernatural from the public at large gets remade into a popcorn entertainment that’s a lively buddy cop movie. If that sounds like a backhanded compliment, then it hit with the correct intention. The remodel of Men in Black softens the overall tone for a more playful one that largely works as some of Will Smith’s shtick has aged poorly.

Will Smith is a member of the NYPD that gets recruited by Tommy Lee Jones’ Agent Kay to join the titular organization. They’re after a McGuffin in the form of a galaxy attached to a cat’s collar while fighting off a roach-like alien that’s taken Vincent D’Onofrio’s skin as a disguise. That’s the basic premise of the film as it provides ample wiggle room for Smith to mug for the camera and deliver rapid-fire bits of humor in contracts of Jones’ superior, flinty straight man form.

There’s a weirder, grosser, more morbid film flitting around the edges of the popcorn entertainment and these flashes keep the energy up and your attention engaged. A talking pug is cute, a tiny alien housed in someone’s robotic head is funny, and Tony Shaloub’s ability to regrow his head is Cronenbergian body horror played as slapstick. These moments give some personality and flavor to what is otherwise a thoroughly enjoyable but generic buddy cop movie.

But the real MVP of the film is D’Onofrio’s committed and completely grotesque performance as Edgar. Or maybe it is Rick Baker’s creation designs, stunning makeup, and humoresque, lively puppetry. Or maybe it’s the zippy pacing and structurally foolproof screenplay that keeps things moving and developing at an organic, playful, occasionally macabre world for its actors to play in. However you look at it, Men in Black holds up surprisingly well given its age, moderate overreliance on special effects, and mid-90s flourishes (god, that terrible Smith rap).

Of course, I already watched this movie. In fact, I even saw the damned thing in the movie theater when it was released but since it was a while back and since I had it on DVD, I thought I might as well check it out again. Well, even though it is now already 20 years old, it still remains a fun movie. Sure, the concept was decent enough but , to be honest, it could have easily become a boring mess (see for example the recent 'R.I.P.D.'). Eventually, what made this movie really work was that they managed to find the right tone and, furthermore, with Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith, they had a fine duo as well. Back in those days, Smith just had his first box-office hit with 'Independence Day' and this movie was exactly the right move to further promote his career. Concerning the story, to be honest, I don’t think it was anything really mind-blowing though. I mean, sure, it was entertaining enough but it was also rather generic and predictable. The weird thing is that they actually messed up the ending in my opinion. Indeed, while most blockbusters would make sure they provide an open-ending, in this movie, they actually managed to get rid-off of one of the best characters. To make things worse, they replaced him with a woman but how could  they bring her back in the following sequel since the damned thing was called 'Men in Black'? Anyway, even though this movie was nothing really amazing, I really have a weak spot for the damned thing and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.