Men in Black 3 tells the story of Agent J (Will Smith) who travels in time to 1969, to stop an alien, Boris the Animal (Jemaine Clement) from assassinating his friend Agent K (Josh Brolin playing a young Agent K) and invading earth.
I am a fan of the first Men in Black which was fresh, funny and original that paired Will Smith with Tommy Lee Jones then the sequel came along and completely ruined the franchise a pathetically written plot and Tommy Lee Jones performance that was all but a middle finger that told fans, hey, I am getting paid millions and I barely have to act.
So that said, I had no expectations for the MIB 3. I was pleasantly surprised that it was actually good, not great but certainly closer to the spirit of the original movie. I loved the time travel bit because it took Tommy Lee Jones out of the movie entirely and give us Josh Brolin as a younger, happier Agent K. If not for Josh Brolin, this movie would be dull as hell. He does a mean imitation of Jones which makes it well the price of admission. Also his banter with Smith is so much more fun that Smith’s acting with Jones.
As for the new characters of this movie, I enjoyed the villain Boris the Animal played by Jermaine Clement from the Flight of the Conchords who is hilariously campy. His escape from the Super Max prison on the moon opens the movie. Also the introduction of Emma Thompson as Agent O replacing Zed is a nice touch but I will miss the late Rip Torn’s craggy face and sarcastic tone.
When the movie propels itself back in time to 1969, there are some nice historical touches like Agent J being arrested for “driving while black” and the super sized cell phone Agent K has but by far the best scene in the entire movie which everyone under 40 and kids will miss the significance of is the visit to an Andy Warhol party who really is an MIB agent. Makes sense right.
Be forewarned, there is a tad bit more cursing that I expected for a PG13 movie. And now for my anti-3D rant. Again, here is another movie that is NOT enhanced by 3-D.
Would I recommend it? Yes but it is better than The Avengers. NO!
I saw MIB3 at a screening Thursday & I agree with your review. I think they pushed the time tavel theme to the limit though – but I did enjoy the ‘sentimental’ ending.