"Protecting the Earth from the scum of the universe."
An MIB agent code-named K (Tommy Lee Jones) seeks out a new recruit to monitor alien activity on earth. The MIB pass over Navy SEALs and Green Berets, instead deciding on the quick-thinking and fast-talking NYPD James Edwards (Will Smith). Without knowing what he was recruited for, James (now codenamed "J") is told that the MIB agency is beyond all government jurisdiction, and that they are responsible for the alien (and we do mean it) immigrants who have taken residence on Earth. Part of the MIB's effective cover-up is using advanced alien technology to impersonate actual government officials, and especially the use of a device called the Neuralyzer, which is able to give Laser-Guided Amnesia to anyone not wearing special MIB-issue tinted glasses.The Men in Black films are only moderately based on the original comics, mostly borrowing the concept and wardrobe of the agents. With a smart sense of humor, the deadpan delivery of Tommy Lee Jones as the seen-it-all K and the much lauded performance of Will Smith as J, the first Men In Black movie was one of the most popular films of 1997. Some publicity was garnered on advertising posters from the fact that they are literally "Mr. Smith and Mr. Jones".A second film came out in 2002, and although it was somewhat well-received, it was considered a "more of the same" sequelitis. With K officially retired (with his memory wiped and civilian identity restored) J has been working overtime as the top field agent of MiB. A powerful alien with a bad attitude returns to Earth looking for "The Light of Zartha," which is tied to a case K was involved with back in the 70's. To get the information they need, they reinstate K and get back to business.Men in Black 3 (stylized MIB3, but notMIB:3D) was released on May 25, 2012, with Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith reprising their roles and the writer for Tropic Thunder and Idiocracy on writing duties. A very dangerous Boglodite named Boris The Animal breaks from a lunar prison and swears revenge on K, who took away his left arm during his arrest 40 years ago. He successfully erases K from the present by helping his younger self to kill him in 1969, allowing a Boglodite invasion. Somehow the only one in the present who notices the change, J must travel back to 1969 to Set Right What Once Went Wrong.
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The first movie provides examples of:
Aerith and Bob: The Twins who run the MIB headquarters are named Blblup and Bob. Note that we're guessing on how the first one's spelled. And the second one too.
The novelization provides spelled-out alien names for both. Both also have Earth nicknames, "Jack" and "Gracie".
Alien Autopsy: The coroner, Laurel, ends up performing these inadvertently on two non-human corpses. It's suggested that she is one of the MIB's most frequently neuralyzed individuals for this very reason.
Aliens Steal Cattle: For a movie about aliens and UFOs, it's notably averted. When the Bug arrives at the farmhouse where Edgar lives, a cow is seen grazing near the truck, but then the cow leaves the truck shortly before the Bug's spacecraft totals it while landing, and Bug-Edgar doesn't express any interest in the cattle on the farm.
Almost Dead Guy: The Arquillian Prince inside the jeweler's body, who survives long enough to give a cryptic clue to the protagonists.
Amnesia Missed A Spot: When J meets Dr. Weaver in the morgue, they vaguely notice that they may have met before, but dismiss it as Deja Vu. In the beginning of the movie, they had met, but K had wiped both of their memories.
Amusing Alien: Lots, but the Worm Guys and Jeebs are probably the best example.
Apologetic Attacker: "Deliver the Galaxy or Earth will be destroyed. Sorry."
Artistic License - Gun Safety: J points the Noisy Cricket in K's face as soon as K hands it to him. K then proceeds to have J carry the gun into the field without having had a chance to practice with it. Both are major gun safety no-nos.
Anonymity is your name Silence, your native tongue You are no longer part of the system You are above the system. Over it. Beyond it We're "Them". We're "They" We are theMen in Black
Behind the Black: J and K don't seem to notice the alien giving birth in the back seat of Reggie's car until Reggie pointed her out.
Played with. The Noisy Cricket, possibly the tiniest MIB gun, can cause some serious damage. It's got a nasty recoil too. On the other hand, a gun the size of a shotgun can shoot down spaceships.
Brick Joke: When J learns about aliens living in New York, he immediately assumes they work as cab drivers, and is told, "Not as many as you'd think." A while later, Dr. Laurel, when it's revealed to her, starts on a rant along the lines of, "I knew it. There was this cab driver the other day..."
The flying saucers from the first MIB meeting in 1961, converted into towers at Flushing.
The little red button in the LTD.
K ordering J to fasten his seat belt, J lecturing him about politeness, and K politely asking J to put on a seat belt after pushing the little red button.
Code Name: Each agent is supplied with one, but it's the first letter of their first name. Expanded Universe has them go into detail with it.
Beatrice: You here to make fun of me, too? K: No ma'am, we at the FBI do not have a sense of humor we are aware of.
In an interview, Tommy Lee Jones says he actually is this; the way to make great comedy is stay close to Will Smith so the funny spills over.
Cool Car: Each agent, and each of them has a hidden form that comes in handy. "Old and Busted... new hotness."
Cool Shades: They've got a purpose, too - they protect against the mind-wiping effects of the Neuralyzer.
Creepy Cockroach: There's a giant roach alien who devours a human and uses his skin as a disguise. He also leaves swarms of roaches wherever he goes, and loves sugar (preferably in water).
Dark Is Not Evil: They are Men In Black after all, but also Earth's "best, last, and only defense against the scum of the universe". Lampshaded in Will Smith's music video.
K: I don't suppose you know what kind of alien life form leaves a green spectral trail and craves sugar water, do you? J: Uh, wait, that was on "Final Jeopardy!" last night. Damn, Alex said...
Domestic Abuser: In the short time before he's killed and inhabited by the Bug, Edgar demeans his wife's cooking, calls her lazy and threatens to hit her.
Drool Hello: Indirectly. After K enters the morgue to find out what's happened to J, he tries to light a cigarette but the match is put out by a drip of slime. He looks up, and now we know what happened to the clerk...
Eat Me: Trope Namer. K goads the Bug into eating him so he can retrieve his gun and blow it up from the inside.
Enemy Rising Behind: After K blasts his way out of the Bug, he and J sit back to reflect on the moment while the upper half of the Bug crawls behind them to attack, only to be blasted at the last second by Laurel using J's gun.
Enforced Method Acting: Tommy Lee Jones was not amused by the script he was given, so he ad-libbed a good deal of his dialogue. Look closely enough and you can see Will Smith trying to keep up, as expected of the fresh recruit. The resulting synergy is well over half the movie's charm.
E.T. Gave Us Wi-Fi: The MIB has been supporting themselves by selling alien technology, helping along the development of modern tech. Microwaves and wi-fi are all alien tech, and in the expanded universe, cell phones, solar power, and many more were all reverse-engineered from contraband.
Played with: J points out that the freaky looking aliens all could be doing fairly innocuous things like working out, while Tiffany is walking around with physics textbooks well out of her grade range in a dark alley.
Eureka Moment: J figures out the Arquillian prince's last words meant when he sees Frank barking at a cat.
Exact Words: The "You can have my gun..." exchange.
Even more layers of this in this scene, as the novelization reveals that prior to assimilating Edgar's memories, the Bug was using a crappy translator. It renders the saying "Your funeral" into the exact meaning of "Your proposal is acceptable".
Also, Bug-Edgar, when talking with the head chef in regards to where "little Ivan" is (the server who was supposed to be serving the ambassadors of the two alien races that Bug-Edgar is trying to assassinate and steal the galaxy from), responds that he "gave [Ivan] a break." He meant this literally, as he broke him in half and stuffed him into a shelf.
Fantastic Racism: The Bug clearly despises humans, and refers to them by a variety of unflattering terms, including "undeveloped pond-scum", "monkey-boys", "meat-sacks" and "milk-suckers". The rest of his species, according to K, are probably very much the same.
Fiction As Cover Up: Tabloids serve a double purpose: they act as part of the alien cover-up by causing people to dismiss any stories they hear about aliens while also being a legitimate source of news for those in the know.
Foreshadowing: The first line in the movie is "Goddamned bugs!"
Freudian Threat: "I want you on the next transport off this rock or I'm going to shoot you where it don't grow back."
J: See this badge?! Huh?! N-Y-P-D! Means I will kNock Yo' Punk-ass Down!
Funny Background Event: Zed neuralyzing the rejected recruits as J and K walk by shortly after the recruitment process. Also, the memorable alien-childbirth scene, which supplies the page image for the trope.
Gas Leak Coverup: The course of action taken after people who witness UFO's or aliens are neuralyzed.
Agent K: The flash of light you saw in the sky was not a UFO. Swamp gas from a weather balloon was trapped in a thermal pocket and reflected the light from Venus.
Played for Laughs in one scene when Agent J tries to give the standard cover story without having a neuralyzer.
J: There's only one way off this planet, baby, and that's through me! [the Bug promptly slaps him aside]
Government Conspiracy: Averted. The first agents were part of the US Government, but not anymore.
J: What branch of the government do we report to?
K: None, they ask too many questions.
Genius Bruiser: J can beat aliens in a foot race and punch some of them out. But he's also a lateral thinker able to see the forest when everybody else is focused on the trees, and is usually able to make logical leaps that K can't.
Hammerspace: How the Bug fits in the Edgar-suit (although he's clearly not too comfy). It makes some sense when you know that roaches are capable of pressing their bodies together to fit into tighter spaces; it makes them extremely resistant against being killed by stepping on them (you need a hard flat surface for that to work). Since the Bug is based on roaches in design and physiology, it's not too far-fetched to assume he has an improved version of that survival technique.
"How can it do that?" "They have their ways. And using those ways just makes it even more angry."
The novel also explicitly states that there's some literal Hammerspace going on, and that this is a natural ability the Bugs have.
Humans Are Morons: "A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it."
Agent K: Human thought is so primitive, it is looked upon as an infectious disease in some of the better galaxies. Kind of makes you feel proud, doesn't it?
Insignificant Little Blue Planet: Zig Zagged trope. It's clearly stated that most aliens view Earth as a very unimportant planet. In fact, that's why these aliens visit: it's "an apolitical zone for aliens without a planet," the Casablanca of the universe. Of course, having so many alien species mingling every day (some of who are considered royalty on their homeworld) means that, in consequence, Earth Is the Center of the Universe.
This then gets worked into the film's Anthropic Principle: the Men In Black keep up The Masquerade to make sure the neutral zone stays neutral.
Which leads into a nasty conclusion: the Men In Black will keep using the neuralizers forever, as they themselves agree with all the aliens that humans are so stupid that they only way Earth can thrive is as a neutral zone. As long as the Men In Black are around, we will never go to space.
Insult Backfire: Human intelligence is so primitive that it's considered an infectious disease on other planets. "Kinda makes you proud, doesn't it?"
Inventor Of The Mundane: The MIB owned the patents to some 'out of town' inventions. Among them was Velcro.
Laser-Guided Amnesia: How the Neuralyzer works. They can be set to wipe someone of certain memories of someone, or the last twenty minutes of aliens trying to kill them. Repeated neuralyzations, however, cause deja vu in some subjects.
Leno Device: The end of the first movie shows tabloid articles talking about the effects of the climax on the public, including a conspiracy theory forming about Detroit perfecting a rocket car and one story about the baseball player who missed the catch during the baseball game shown in the movie claiming that he missed it because he saw a UFO (which is actually true).
Of course, the joke is that the tabloids contain the best source of information for MIB ("You can try the New York Times if you want. They get lucky sometimes.")
Mentor Occupational Hazard: Averted. K survives the Bug's innards to retrieve his gun and blast his way out.
Mobile Suit Human: Rosenberg. The alien prince of the Arquillian Empire who had the Galaxy was piloting one ("the little dude inside the big dude's head"), the better to hide from enemies — and to pet his cat.
Mood Whiplash: J is more than happy to help K with doing the whole Good Cop/Bad Cop routine while questioning Jeebs, until K holy shit BLOWS JEEBS'S HEAD OFF, at which point J drops the act and screams at K to drop his weapon. (The mood is restored when Jeebs's head grows back.)
Naïve Newcomer: J in the first movie indulges in Uncle Tomfoolery. K is somewhat less of one in the second when J tries to bring him back, though J still gets exasperated when he keeps poking everything.
Needle in a Stack of Needles: When "Edgar" escapes with the Galaxy and Laurel, J realizes he's escaped in a cab. The trouble is, the movie is set in New York, and it's rush hour.
J:(to K) The dude was that ugly before he was an alien?
Non Answer: During the recruitment, J asks why they were there, and one of the military-trained recruits responds that Zed is looking the "the best of the best of the best, sir." J deduces, correctly, that none of the others knows why they're there either, and are following a "do what you're told" mentality.
Given the results of the test, it's entirely possible that the recruitment process was just a going-through-the-motions act put on for the benefit of J and/or Zed.
Nonverbal Miscommunication: J (understandably) misreading Laurel's frantic signals that the Bug is hiding in the trolley as a come-on.
Noodle Incident: Agent K tells Agent J, "you should've been here for the Zeronion migration in 1968." Additionally, whatever's going on in the Arquillian empire that has resulted in one of its princes living in exile.
Not This One, That One: Agent J is shown an awesome-looking Series-4 De-atomizer, but is actually issued a puny-looking Noisy Cricket.
Obfuscating Stupidity: J, to a degree. The entire first act of the movie is designed to show that his streetwise smart-ass routine is largely a put-on and he's actually a very good, and even insightful, detective.
Oh Crap: Only once does Agent K briefly lose his composure, thanks to witnessing the Bug revealing itself.
One-Scene Wonder: Jeebs, Frank the Pug and the Worms (though they show up briefly in three different scenes). Positive response led to them all returning for the animated series and the sequel.
One-Winged Angel: Edgar's final form, a giant, angry cockroach with teeth.
Public Secret Message: Agent K explains that tabloids, which are assumed to be hoaxes by muggles, are in fact based on true events behind The Masquerade (since tabloids have less Weirdness Censor than "serious" newspapers). Later, when Agent K retires, Agent J notices an article with Agent K's photo and an article about a postal worker who returned to his old job after years in a coma, revealing Agent K's fate, which then becomes a major plot point in the second film.
Edwards to K after K shoots Jeebs in the head, only to drop it when his head grows back
The Bug to J and K when they confront him in the morgue
Race Lift: James Edwards. He was white in the original comics and was supposed to be played by Chris O'Donnell who was filming Batman & Robin at the time.
Recursive Reality: The MacGuffin that draws Edgar Bug to Earth in the first film is a miniature galaxy. The final scene reveals that our galaxy is just like the MacGuffin, and lies several layers down within a miniature galaxy-orb that an alien is playing marbles with.
Men in Black II pulls a similar gag by showing a world inside a locker where K's watch is a symbol of worship, then at the end, K shows J that their world is also simply inside a larger locker (doesn't work quite as well as the first film, due to Fridge Logic).
An alternate ending has J going on vacation and ending up on the world inside the locker and the size of its inhabitants, implying some sort of change in size when you go through the locker door, or that the lockers are more of a Portal Network.
J: So, who exactly are you with? FBI? NSA? K: I'm part of a bureau that licenses, monitors and polices alien activity on the planet Earth. J: Whatever.
The bit about the gun is a Mythology Gag referencing the surprisingly obscure comic the movie was based on. It turns out much better for the farmer in that one, though - the bugs REALLY needed his gun (for a high-stakes scavenger hunt), but not so urgently that they couldn't wait him out.
Subverted somewhat in that K neuralyzes J after he identified the gun, anyway.
Sadist Teacher: J discovers that one he had in grade school is actually an alien from Jupiter.
Science Marches On: A minor one. When J heads to the morgue to retrieve a cat, he hilariously tries to convince Lauren that the cat is a witness in a murder investigation. Fast forward about ten years and advancements in forensic science mean that animals who 'witness' a murder can be checked for any forensic evidence the killer may have left behind.
Screaming Birth: The alien woman... plus a few tentacles shaking a screaming J around like a ragdoll.
Seen It All: Agent K. J keeps trying this, but K manages to surprise him.
J: This definitely rates about a 9.0 on my weird-shit-o-meter.
This Explains So Much: Twice. J discovers his third grade teacher really was an alien all along, and at the end when J reveals Dennis Rodman is one, too.
Also, when kidnapping Laurel, she threatens that if Bug-Edgar does anything to her (after claiming that she's Earth's ruler or even a goddess), Earth will declare war on his species in an attempt to get him to let her go. Unfortunately, this gave Bug-Edgar a lot more incentive to kidnap her than before ("War? Good. That means more food for my family. All 78 million of them. That's a lot of mouths to feed, Highness.")
Throw It In: Will Smith's "It be raining black people in New York" line after he jumps onto the bus was ad-libbed.
Tommy Lee Jones was famously dissatisfied with the script and so he took it upon himself to "fix" it by ad-libbing a good deal of his dialogue and one-liners. The result was Will Smith, not to be outdone, having to play along too. The movie is unquestionably better for it.
And the MIB operates on a 37-hour-day. According to Zed, "You get used to it. Or you have a psychotic episode."
Two Roads Before You: As the first movie demonstrates with J, all prospective agents have the choice between remaining in their current occupations and leading their lives, or joining the agency and severing all ties to their former lives.
J: Is it worth it? K: Oh, it's worth it... if you're strong enough.
Unflinching Faith In The Brakes: When the agents bring down the spacecraft, they stand and let it come to them. J at the least looks around nervously but otherwise doesn't move.
Un-Person: As Zed says in the quote, it's part of the initiation process. Leaving agents get their identities back, however, or at least a reasonable facsimile thereof.
Actor Allusion: Know that weird language J speaks in to the guy in the mail room? Well, the mailman is actually Biz Markie, and that "weird alien language" is actually beatboxing.
Let's not forget that Patrick Warburton played a not-too-bright agent who joined MIB because he wants to be a hero. His codename? "Agent T."
Anal Probing: Sci-Fi nerd Newton, upon finding out what J and K actually do, raises the question, "What's up with anal probing?"
Apathetic Citizens: J is thrown through the window of a New York subway train shortly after attempting to sedate the giant toothed alien monster with a tranquilizer and immediately starts shouting at everyone to evacuate. The passengers ignore him until a giant toothed alien monster bites a chunk off the carriage. Once the crisis is resolved, he mind-wipes them and starts chewing them out about this. He has to mind-wipe them again once he realizes that he's carried on for far too long, now with a hilarious story of using space-efficient, energy-saving cars.
Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: Serleena murders Ben after he refuses to divulge the location of the Light of Zartha. She also steals some of the pizza from his restaurant.
Balloon Belly: Serleena gets one after swallowing the mugger in the park whole, which she manages to get rid of by spitting him back out.
Balls of Steel: K is trying to fight off an alien with little success until J points out that that particular alien is impervious to groin attacks...because his balls are on his chin instead. Apparently his species is Ballchinian!
A hilarious ad-lib, to boot, as some of the other takes identified him as a Godnadineck, Nutchinian, Chinball, Nutthroatean, and Chinsackian. There were likely many others.
Big Little Man: Serleena's spacecraft which flies around blowing up planets turns out to be smaller than a dog. And let's not forget how our entire universe is inside an airport locker.
Buxom Is Better: Lampshaded by Serleena in this little tidbit of dialogue:
Call Back: After K regains his memory, the constellation he stares at is Orion.
Canon Immigrant: Among other shout outs to the cartoon, the deneuralyzer.
City of Weirdos: MIB 2 had a scene where J can't clear a subway car he just crashed into because everyone dismisses him as just a New York nut. At least they get moving when a giant worm starts eating the car.
Creator Cameo: Barry Sonnenfeld (with his wife and daughter) as the family in the apartment K and J raid for weapons in the sequel.
Cut the Juice: J ordered the power to the facility be cut in order to cancel Serleena's flight with Laura and the light of Zartha, but the plan ended up proving to be unnecessary after J managed to stop the launch sequence at the last second.
Disney Death: Variation. When J attempts to establish a communication channel with Frank, he gives Frank an order, but his transmission was cut inexplicably, leading the worms and Frank (and initially the audience) to think that J and K were shot down and killed by Serleena. However, it later becomes apparent that J and K survived, but the earlier shot only disabled their communications, thus explaining why the transmission ended.
Empathic Environment: It begins to rain at the end of the film, as the Light of Zartha begins crying as her ship leaves. It always rains when she cries.
Face Full of Alien Wing-Wong: K, Frank, and Zed all talk about their own sexual experiences with aliens at the end of MIB II to cheer J up after his Love Interest was forced to return home, much to J's disgust.
Fanservice: Rosario Dawson's presence, though it's kind of dwarfed by having Lara Flynn Boyle playing as an alien that disguises itself as an underwear model in leather.
Forgot the Call: K got tired of working, and asked to be neuralyzed. The first half of the second movie is spent trying to get his memory back due to him knowing a Plot Coupon he also forgot.
Also heavily implied to be what Frank the Pug (then known as Agent F) attempted to do when he was laughed at by a fellow agent.
Hilarious Outtakes: Particularly an extended outtake in which director Barry Sonnenfeld keeps calling a stand-in by the wrong name, much to the amusement of the actors.
Mythology Gag: When the man reading the newspaper expresses his gladness while reading his newspaper about J and K returning to the MIB headquarters after Serleena locked it down, the headlines state that Satan has returned to Earth. In the original comic of the Men In Black, besides tracking aliens, the MIB also tracked down demons and supernatural entities.
Naïve Newcomer: K, when J tries to bring him back. J gets exasperated when he keeps poking everything.
This might qualify under Noodle Incident, but when J was attempting to establish a channel with Frank during their chase by Serenna, Frank the Pug is saying to the Worms with a cigar in his mouth "So I said 'Listen, bitch! If you don't want me to kick your skinny, zone-diet ass, I suggest you turn tail and leave the planet!'"
Pre-Mortem One-Liner: J to Serleena: "Your flight's been canceled", although she gets better... temporarily.
Sci-Fi Writers Have No Sense of Scale: Arguably averted. Serleena at one point asks for a spacecraft that can travel 300 times the speed of light. To put it into perspective, this speed would get you to Alpha Centauri, our nearest star, in 5.31 days. Still hardly the instant travel across the universe we always see in sci-fi, but at least the writers made an effort.
Sequel Non-Entity: Laurel gets mentioned once just to "explain" why she isn't with them.
Sequel Reset: The first movie ended with K happily retired, all MIB memories erased and given a chance to start things over with the love of his life. J, meanwhile, became K's replacement and got a new partner of his own in Agent L. The sequel drops L (her absence is merely Hand Waved) and brings back the amnesic K. Thing is, once his memories are restored, the same character dynamic from the first movie (despite J having five years of experience) is repeated.
Sexy Coat Flashing: Serleena really wants to become an underwear model (but not before infesting MIB headquarters).
Unstoppable Rage: After J's new recruit foolishly tried to pull on Jeffrey (the Subway Worm's) flower, to put it simply, it was extremely P.O.'ed, and started lashing out at everything, including J, and then rampaging across the Subway tunnels. He eventually calms down after J attempts to threaten to blast it if it doesn't calm down, and presumably also due to the tranquilizer that he injected earlier finally going into effect after the slight delay.
Weaponized Landmark: The Statue of Liberty. Sort of. It's actually a giant neuralyzer.
What Does This Button Do?: In the original, K's car has the little red button. In this one, J's car has two - one that turns it into a jet, the other deploys a dummy to look like the car is being driven by someone. Used to hilarious effect twice.
K: That come standard? J: Well, it came with a black dude, but he kept gettin' pulled over.
You Taste Delicious: While the villainess was talking to K she stuck her tongue in his ear. This was actually an improv by Lara Flynn Boyle in an attempt to make Tommy Lee Jones break character. It didn't work.
These were actually the first words Serleena heard after landing on Earth and assuming a human form, when a would-be mugger licks the side of her face. Her reply?
You Were Trying Too Hard: At the pizzeria, when J realizes the photograph is pointing at something, which seems to be another photo pointing at something, which was ultimately... a cabinet full of sardines. K, however, sees the first photo is pointing at a key hanging from the wall.
K: I hope I'm not slowing you down, partner...
Zeerust: Jeebs' de-neuralyzer is distinctly less advanced than what was previously shown.
Always Chaotic Evil: The Boglidites are implied to be this, which would make sense since the heroes need to remain sympathetic after wiping them out save for Boris.
An Arm and a Leg: Boris lost his arm to K before going to a lunar prison.
Asian Speekee Engrish: Subverted with Wu, who is an alien disguised as a Chinese restaurant owner who apparently does this to appease the tourists, which both J and K see right through.
Audience Surrogate: Griffin physically resembles an adult and has a mentality similar to a wide-eyed child. In other words, the target audience.
Cerebus Retcon: The reason K has always been such a curmudgeonly old guy is because he witnessed J's father sacrificing himself to save K from Boris back in 1969, which ended up with him somewhat becoming a surrogate to J.
Continuity Nod: While he doesn't appear in the film, Frank is referenced twice. Over J's bed, a huge portrait of a pug is hung, and a sideshow poster on Coney Island references the "amazing talking dog" - a pug.
Agent Kay is now living in the apartment that he used to live in Men in Black II.
The Colonel says "that's some next-level stuff" as the Arcnet Shield is deployed. J said "there's some next-level shit" when getting on the elevator as he returned to officially join up in the first film.
The cafe K and J go to is the same one J took T and Laura to in the second film.
Disney Villain Death: Subverted by both versions of Boris. Future!Boris survives getting pushed off a great height, but he is burned alive by the rocket as it takes off. Past!Boris falls after his arm is blown off, but he gets blown up by K.
Dragon Their Feet: Young Boris shows up, kills J's father and taunts young K to arrest him. Young K kills him once and for all.
Laser-Guided Amnesia: Two prototypes of Neuralyzer exist in 1969, the giant one in which J is locked and a smaller one with a battery attached to K's belt.
Mister Sandman Sequence: The first things J sees when he travels back in 1969? Cars, hippies ...
Monumental Damage: An alien ship pulls out the top of the Eiffel Tower.
More Teeth than the Osmond Family: Boris' "true form" seems to be nothing but teeth. Forshadowed by the mouth-like fissures his body is covered with.
Mythology Gag: The plot resembles the MIB animated series episode "The Head Trip Syndrome" which was about a human bigot who hated Aliens and uses a time machine to kill off the founding members of MIB. The difference for the film is that the villain is an alien who wanted to travel back in time to kill K.
What Year Is It?: When the attempt at newspaper dating doesn't work because the guy in the elevator keeps shifting the date on the paper out of J's line of sight.
Sudden Sequel Death Syndrome: Zed, whose death happens offscreen. The film opens with J and K discussing what K will say at his funeral.
Suspiciously Specific Denial: When Agent J returns to 2012, and does a Calling the Old Man Out routine on K and O's relationship in 1969, Agent K cites an MIB no-fraternization rule between agents. But he never actually denies J's claim, and J doesn't believe K's deflection anyway.
Thrown Out The Airlock: Well, technically, it's Thrown Out The Gaping Hole Blasted Into The Ceiling, but this is how Boris deals with the prison guards when he escapes Lunar-Max.
Timey Wimey Ball: Poor Griffin lives in one inside his head. He seems to enjoy it at times, but knowing how every moment in existence could go horribly wrong in infinite ways obviously wears on his nerves.
You weren't at your computer for the past few minutes. You got up, got something to eat and then visited a few other sites. Checked some blogs, answered a couple e-mails, nothing too eventful or life changing. After a few minutes you returned to TV Tropes and found a completely different page to view.
You weren't at your computer for the past few minutes. You got up, got something to eat and then visited a few other sites. Checked some blogs, answered a couple e-mails, nothing too eventful or life changing. After a few minutes you returned to TV Tropes and found a completely different page to view.
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