Did you think Men In Black 3 was going to be an epic failure? That’s ok if you did. Ten years from the last, underwhelming sequel and rumours of a troubled shoot would lead anyone to believe that the movie was going to be a bust.
Happy to break it to you – MIB3 is all sorts of fun.
The plot, as you likely know by now, finds Agent J (Will Smith) travelling back to the 60’s to save the life of his nearly monosyllabic and distant partner Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones), along with the universe. When J gets there, he hooks up with K’s younger self (Josh Brolin) and the duo set out to get rid of aliens and save the day.
Pretty simple stuff, but leave it to the amazing cast and series director Barry Sonnenfeld to make Men In Black 3 a perfect summer blockbuster. All the performances are spot on. Will Smith is his usual cool and cocky self in his first onscreen role in nearly four years. Tommy Lee Jones has less screen time than the previous films, but manages to convey emotion with his face that the character is not allowed to express with words. As for Brolin, all the kudos he’s been earning for his performance are all justified. He nails Jones’ voice and cadence perfectly – it’s the highlight of the film.
Rick Baker creates some very cool aliens that pop up throughout MIB3, but more than just those eye-popping effects, the film has the strength of a script that keeps things moving before pulling out an emotional wallop during its final moments. The question J constantly poses to both versions of K is “what happened to you, man?” – the answer is moving, well done and, in my mind, totally unexpected. Well played.
If you haven’t seen the first two Men In Black films in quite some time, or perhaps never, you can absolutely walk into MIB3 and totally follow what’s going on, which is another point in it’s favour. Smart, fun and full of spectacular sfx and strong performances, it’s the definition of a big screen summer spectacle. Highly recommended.
