Men in Black III

Men in Black III

“Men in Black III” (Barry Sonnenfeld, 2012) stars Will Smith & Tommy Lee Jones in encore performances with Josh Brolin as Agent K’s younger self. Without taking away from the two others’ importance in setting up for this film, this was the best MIB yet.

We have the characters setup in prior films, so in their usual manner Agent J talks too much and Agent K rarely talks. MIB (the first one) is key to the story because K recruits K, and MIB 2 sets up their loving rivalry partnership that is in a strain at the beginning of this film. Will Smith’s character wants to know why his partner is so secretive and where did his liveliness go—if it ever existed. The villain, Boris the Animal (Jermaine Clement) spent 40 years in maximum security on the moon and resents K for blowing his arm off before his arrest. Boris wants to save his race by taking over the planet Earth and uses time travel to go back and stop K from preventing the takeover. Presently, K ceases to exist and aliens are invading earth. So J also goes back in time the day before Boris and K have a standoff to keep K from being killed. Long story short, they save the planet and K—but Agent J learns what exactly happened back then to change K’s life so much. Young K is more talkative, philosophical, and has his eye on Agent O. By the end of the film, J and K’s partnership is solidified and will never be questioned again.

'Boris the Animal'

It would be unrealistic to pretend not to notice the characters’ aging. I couldn’t help being distracted from remembering the first time I saw MIB in the 90s (1997). It makes the characters sort of like family, and this film did just that. Rather than try to make the story pick up at MIB 2, it allowed for aging. Even Smith’s character says, “I’m getting too old for this…” Brolin does a great job at playing a younger version of Tommy Lee Jones’ character. And Jones is always the same character. Clement was convincing as the antagonist. Even when his future and past selves face off, it is a great scene. He is the same yet distinguishes between the two at different levels of “know-it-all” villain.

1969 Agent O

The film’s theme is consistent with the other two, and there is no transition of viewer imagination required to follow the story. The effects were in true MIB comedic style. I liked the alien fish that talked on the stove. The neuro-transponder dialogue was not as witty as it has been in the past, but the film fully makes up for it in plot. Music was used heavily to set the mood once the story moved back to the 60s, but the wardrobe, hairstyles, and automobiles made the transition smooth as well. It was hilarious when 60s Agent K pulls out a cell phone as big as a 2-liter soda.

Whether you are a MIB fan or not, you will enjoy this film if you have watched another one. The story has matured as much as its 90s audience has, and the end is tear-worthy—so have your tissues ready. It is still a comedic/action/sci-fi/thriller film with a family twist at the end. I’d recommend to see it!