Men in Black 3

Starring: Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin, Jemaine Clement, Emma Thompson, Michael Stuhlbarg, Alice Eve
Directed by: Barry Sonnenfeld
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, Comedy, Science Fiction
2012

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A renegade alien (Jemaine Clement) travels back in time and kills Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones). Now, Agent J (Will Smith) has to return to 1969 and team with the earlier version of K (Josh Brolin) to save him- and the future.

Review:

Tim: In the ten years since the last Men in Black film, I've softened a bit on the franchise. Yes, these movies are silly and a bit too over-the-top, but they're fun in their own way. While I wasn't overly excited about this movie, I was mildly interested to see how the trilogy would be rounded out. This movie is definitely flawed, but it's an improvement over the last installment, and all in all, is a pretty good movie.

I should say that I'm still not entirely convinced this movie needed to exist. It's been 10 years since the last film, and our heroes have certainly aged. It's no surprise that Tommy Lee Jones is looking tired and ancient, but I was shocked to see how much Will Smith has aged. We haven't seen Smith in 4 years (since 2008's Seven Pounds), and I wa surprised to see that he is really looking older. It just made the whole thing a little bit sad. It wouldn't surprise me if this is the last film in the franchise (until the inevitable reboot).

Jones and Smith have always made a fun pair, although their chemistry was a bit weaker this time around. Jones just looks like he's lost a step and didn't bring nearly enough energy to the role. He looked tired and like he showed up here just for the paycheck. Jones and Smith have some good back-and-forth banter, but it wasn't what it used to be. Still, these guys are fun together, and I really enjoyed seeing them together.

However, this pairing alone would not make this movie worthwhile. Brilliantly, the plot line here involves Smith traveling back to 1969 and interacting with a much younger version of Jones, played by Josh Brolin. This is what makes the movie worth seeing. Brolin turns in an absolutely stunning performance, channeling not only Jones' mannerisms and voice, but his very essence. Hands-down, this was my absolute favorite part of the entire movie. It was remarkable seeing Brolin in this role, and it made the whole movie so much more enjoyable.

I also enjoyed the time-traveling aspect of the story. It was a new twist and a fun new adventure for our heroes. It allowed them to follow the same formula, but with enough different to ensure this movie didn't feel stale or a retread of what we've already done. The time-travel aspect breathed new life into this franchise, and it was fun to watch unfold on screen.

Unfortunately, this film suffers from some of the same flaws as the previous movies in the franchise. The movie is fun in a goofy way, but there's not much to really take seriously here. I was surprised how disgusting the early scenes were- for a PG-13 movie, there was a lot of bloodshed and nastiness in the form of the various aliens on screen. It seemed a bit unnecessary to me. The story is interesting, but it was hard to really feel anything about any of the characters. The movie did bring a fresh storyline, but there wasn't really anything here that made me believe this movie truly needed to exist. There's a few storylines, (especially towards the end) that felt a bit contrived. These serve to tie everything together, but they didn't seem like an organic part of the story or the mythology of these characters.

While I didn't love Men in Black 3, it's a pretty harmless, decently entertaining movie. Sci-fi comedies don't always work, so it's fun seeing this franchise turn into a trilogy. Smith and Jones were good, but Brolin completely steals the show. I thoroughly enjoyed him here, and he is the main reason I liked the movie as much as I did. I was happy to see this movie improve in quality from the previous film, although it doesn't reach the heights of the original. While I'd consider this a good movie, it feels like this is a fitting end to the franchise.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Men in Black, Men in Black 2, Independence Day, Evolution, After Earth