Review: Men In Black III
Men in Black 3 opened on May 25, 2012 in the United States. The third film in the long running series starred Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones and Josh Brolin. The Amblin release was directed by Barry Sonnenfeld & Executive Produced by Steven Spielberg.
Synopsis:
Agent J (Will Smith) travels back in time to save Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) and the world. He teams with a young Agent K (played by Josh Brolin) while in 1969 to stop the alien that threatens the world and the existence of K. While back in time, Agent J learns a lot about his past and his relationships.
Positives:
- The action in Men in Black 3 is more intense and better staged than the previous two films. There are a few very well-designed set pieces.
- The film presents a lot of interesting ideas about time travel, but the script doesn’t do a great job of fleshing out those concepts.
- MIB 3 is definitely the most emotional and character driven film in the series.
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Negatives:
- Will Smith dominates the film, although Brolin is strong imitating Jones, and even though he delivers a competent performance, his energy doesn’t meet the level of his first two MIB performances. Smith’s low energy hurts the comedy in the film. Part 3 is the least funny film in the franchise.
- The script is confusing and isn’t well laid out. The story is interesting, but the script does a poor job of presenting the ideas in a concise way.
- The sequel retroactively changes a lot of things we thought we knew about the series. This is a tactic a lot of sequels use and sometimes it can be executed well. Men In Black 3 presents new information that kind of hurts the previous films – especially the first Men In Black.
In Closing:
Men In Black 3 is a slight improvement on the underwhelming Men In Black 2. It comes nowhere close to reaching the fun and innovativeness of Men In Black though. The film lacks the comedy and fluidity that made MIB such a success. Men In Black 3 shows how hard it is to make a satisfying sequel.
Rating: C-