Men In Black III

I've never been the biggest Men In Black fan. I saw the first one when I was little and liked it a lot, but havent actively sought out to watch it again. And I thought Men In Black II was a pretty vacant afternoon distraction; good entertainment for an hour or two but not much else. So when I went to see Men In Black III, I secretly had some pretty low personal expectations for it. I knew it would be entertaining, but would it be good? Would it be a movie that I would watch again? I was kind of already assuming that it wouldnt be. And wouldn't you believe it...I was wrong...again.

I Am a Classy Legend

Men In Black III is in my opinion, the best in the series, which coming from me doesn't really mean a whole lot, but I enjoyed it significantly more than I did the other two, especially the last, underwhelming sequel. 


What Men In Black III has done so right is it took its time. It has been several years since the last film and I think that allowed the team behind the movie to not necessarily reboot the franchise, but breath some fresh life into it and remind people that it still existed. In particular, it can be seen that they took a lot of time with the plot and story details which I thought to be superb. I never like to give away details about the plot so basically Agent J (Will Smith) has to go back in time to save Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) so that Agent K can save the world 40 years in the future. It sounds confusing, but it really isnt too bad, and I was significantly engaged in each scene once the main plot wheels started turning. It also has a ridiculously satisfying ending. As many of you know, I love it when a movie adds depth to characters. When I care for the characters on screen, I care exponentially more about the movie. It's why I enjoyed movies such as The Grey so much and rather disliked ones such as last week's Battleship. And the ending to MIB III packs quite an emotional wallop, especially once you realize how much it affects the series as a whole. 

Old Agent K and Agent J kicking some alien arse

Young Agent K and Agent J about to kick some more alien arse...
again...in the past...

What may not be surprising about MIB III is that the acting is really good. Will Smith of course brings most of the comedic relief as he usually does, but also can act the pants off of any scene. And Tommy Lee Jones is back as his usual grumpy self and does a great job of showing zero emotion. But the star of the show is Josh Brolin who plays the 1960's version of Agent K once Will Smith travels back in time. His impersonation of Tommy Lee Jones' iconic character is impressive if not even a little eerie. But at the same time he adds a little bit of heart to the old fart and expands the personality a bit so that we as the audience can see that there is a reason why Agent K is the way he is. Overall, it was just a really fun performance to watch through and through. Lastly, I was really digging the villain of the movie. Nothing is worse when a movie has a horrible villain or even worse, a laughable one. But MIB III had a fairly intense, grotesque, inventive, and brutal one. He is one ugly mother who has some weird hand monster action going on and he is dead set on not only killing Agent K, but destroying the world. His voice and the phrases he says on a consistent basis are sinister and he really ends up being a formidable opponent and adds some actual weight to the movie.

Trust when I say that his hand is even more gross

I would say that the only fault about this Men In Black is that it isn't as funny as I've come to expect. There are still some really good one-liners and I did laugh out loud several times, but I feel as if the producers exchanged some of the comedy of the series for a ever-so-slightly more serious tone. Not necessarily a bad thing, but it becomes obvious when there are a handful of jokes that fall flat on their face. 


Men In Black III did something that Hollywood often has a hard time of doing: it took the time to not rush out a sequel. Instead, it made sure that it was a significant and important entry to the series, and it shows. Like I said, I enjoyed this one probably the most out of all of them, especially the fantastic Cape Canaveral-action-set-piece ending. If you liked the other Men In Black movies then you owe it to yourself to see this one. If you have yet to jump on the MIB train, then maybe it's time you bought your extraterrestrial ticket...


Pros:

• I really enjoyed the plot. I was intrigued the whole way through and the movie builds its mystery up and doesnt disappoint with the reveals
• Fun aliens have always been a stipend of the series, and that doesnt change in this iteration 
• Features some pretty good action, especially the ending scene at Cape Canaveral
• Some pretty funny jokes, mostly delivered by Will Smith
• Josh Brolin delivers a hilarious performance as a young Agent K
• The villain is creepy as hell and was a powerful adversary

Cons:

• Most of the special effects are good, but some are pretty fake looking. In this day and age it is easier and easier to tell
• Other than Agent J and K, there arent many old friends back along for the ride
• Some jokes arent funny; not as funny as the other entries
• The opening is a little slow and reminiscent of the second film (not a good thing)

Rath's Review Score: 8/10