Let's be honest, if you, like me and many thousands of others like me loved the original film, you were more than a little disappointed with what a hatchet job was made of the sequel. Men In Black 2 has become one of those films you fully expect to see turning up on ITV3 at least once a month, swapping places with The Scorpion King and Van Helsing as a throwaway piece of filler material on an otherwise program-less channel. The spirit of Men In Black was completely lost, no quirky mystery, smart if slightly simple jokes were traded for cheesy gags and product placement was king. But remember, when Men In Black was first released, it was so unlike a majority of films of the time, it had that sense of coolness about it, and was a refreshing display of how to make family-friendly, fun and, most importantly, good science fiction movie. So whilst we weren't expecting much of this third film, a lot rested on the shoulders of director Barry Sonnenfeld, who was responsible for both previous offerings.
Quick, spoiler-free plot summary, as is standard: extremely dangerous criminal Boris The Animal (Jermaine Clement) escapes from prison on the moon and heads to Earth to seek revenge on the man who locked him up in 1969 - Agent K (Jones); Boris travels back in time and kills K, leading Agent J (Smith) to head back to 1969 to stop Boris and save his younger partner - played by Josh Brolin. Got it? It's actually quite a well-worked plot, and given how dangerous time travel stories can be to a movie (see Star Trek Generations or Back To The Future sequels), it sticks with minimal plot holes. Don't get me wrong, there are a couple, but each are largely addressed later in the film...so you'll just have to trust me on this one, because I'm not spoiling it for you. There's a very nice cyclical feel to the story, as the first film saw K training J, and being saved in the process, the second film saw K saving the day, this time they're saving each other, and bring the franchise to a very nice, totally worked out point.
For the entire movie, we, like Agent J are constantly asking what the major event that triggered Agent K's trademark sourfaced, emotionless look on life, which seemed to commence on one fateful day in 1969. Naturally, this is the climactic scene of the film, and believe me, it's a goodun. It's a twist for sure, and you're not necessarily likely to see it coming until seconds before it happens, but it provides an extremely well-thought out sense of meaning to all three films, and will add a particularly pleasing peace of sentimental value for fans of the first release. But you'll have to go see it for yourself...
The comedy aspect has been kept totally intact this time round, and the chemistry between J and K is definitely back to the original level. However, this is slightly more impressive, given that the Agent K we see on screen for the majority of the film is Brolin, not Jones. It is Brolin who steals the show here, his impression of Tommy Lee Jones is frighteningly accurate, but is more importantly faithful to the K character, whilst also recognising that he is a more expressive version of the Agent. There are some funny and some touching moments between Brolin and Smith as their characters explore the unfamiliar versions of each other, and we're certainly allowed to enjoy every minute of it. With Will Smith, you know exactly what you're going to get if it's a comedy-happy role, and he is essentially exactly the same as he is in the first two films, but with the occasional nod to the added 14-odd years of experience added to his belt. Similarly, Jones gives an as-you-were performance, but with a note of sadness, which is key to the story...spoiler, no more, sorry! There are pleasing little appearances from Emma Thompson as Agent O (replacing Agent Z as the head of the MIB), and Michael Stuhlbarg as a multi-dimensional being - both adding a sense of warmth to the film, whilst the latter in particular is also an integral piece of the plot. Serious respect needs to go to Jermaine Clement also, in his performance as Boris The Animal; whilst his appearance is greatly aided by impressive - and occasionally skin-crawling - CGI, the extremely bizarre vocal display is fantastic, and truly in the mould of previous MIB villain, Edgar the Bug. Watch out for cameo roles from Bill Hader and Will Arnett too, as well as a host of pleasing references to the previous films, especially ones involving a certain four-legged furry agent.
If there's one criticism I can throw at any member of the cast, it's to Nicole Scherzinger, who "plays" Lily, the unfortunate girlfriend of Boris. Given that she is only on screen for about 60 seconds, and speaks no more than five times, it's remarkable that someone can turn in such an unconvincing performance to a role; exactly how do you manage to overact with less than 30 words to your role? Her appearance had me fearing the worst for the movie, as she was all too similar to the Serleena character from MIB II, but thankfully her role is cut very short, in what I'd like to feel is the writers way of saying "we're sorry for the last film, here's more of what you actually wanted." And they delivered.
The effects? What did you expect? They're fantastic again, and each alien you see on screen is either brilliantly original, or tipping the hat to sci-fi films of the past. But once more, the focus here is on Boris The Alien; whoever dreamt up the appearance of this guy is either seriously skilled at what he does, or seriously messed up, as the end product is amazing.
4/5 - I concede defeat. I thought this would be a wimper of a movie, but it certainly proved me wrong. The fun and cleverness is back in the franchise. The story is brilliant and well presented, even moving in places. Should the franchise continue? If they do, they've set themselves back on the right path, if they don't, they've ended it on a much stronger footing. We finally have the sequel the original deserved.
If you want a fun movie experience, go see it.
This was a fun flick, but nothing too entirely special. Just a bunch alien fun with Will Smith, a guy who needs get back out there pronto! Good review Stephen. Definitely a lot better than that 2nd one though.
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