Review: MEN IN BLACK 3

Agent J: Will Smith
Old Agent K: Tommy Lee Jones
Young Agent K: Josh Brolin
Old Agent O: Emma Thompson
Young Agent O: Alice Eve
Boris the Animal: Jemaine Clement

Directed by: Barry Sonnenfeld
Written By: Etan Cohen
Running Time: 106 minutes
Rated: PG-13 (for sci-fi action violence, and brief suggestive content)

We have learned over the years there are good sequels, and very bad sequels. Men In Black was a great movie, but MIB2 was a royal stinker. I’m pleased to report that MIB3 is the sequel that makes up for the second film. It’s the good sequel that touched the audience that I was attending with to applaud when the credits started. I’ve witnessed many audiences applaud movies before, but for a summer popcorn film? That’s how superior this sequel is compared to its predecessor, with a better storyline, some great character development and action that really impresses. Men In Black 3 is possibly one of the best movies of the summer, building on what has already been an impressive start to the summer.

The biggest change coming from the royal stinker of the last sequel was the plot. This film not only had one, but a very good one that kept our attention from start to finish. This movie had more charm, more appeal then the previous sequel and it shone through and swept the audience off its feet. Will Smith is his usual charming self as Agent J, but this time out we are treated to two versions of Agent K. First there is the older and wiser present day K played by Tommy Lee Jones and the younger back in time 29 year old version of K who was played wonderfully by Josh Brolin, right down to the voice which was so good people swore they used Jones to dub his own voice. Emma Thompson makes a good showing as the new supervisor of the MIB division, replacing Z who was mentioned in the movie (Z is mentioned as his character is no longer around. Overall casting made a huge difference, including the villain, played Jemaine Clement (Flight of the Concords).

Without spoiling too much, time travel plays a major role in this sequel, which is a staple in the sci-fi genre. I was concerned that this storyline would interfere with the other elements of the film, but the plot was so well written that everything tied together rather nicely, and we learned a great deal more about Agents J and K than we ever imagined we would in MIB. While 3D adds a tiny bit to some effects and a little depth to other scenes, it really doesn’t make much of a difference to the point where you feel the need to shell out some extra dollars. I really liked the action scenes as they were not over the top, which was a problem with the previous sequel and didn’t try too hard to make things work. The action was good, well paced and worked well with the storyline in question. A nice combo that was well enjoyed by the audience I was viewing this with.

So far the first two blockbusters of the summer have been high quality action movies, better than the average blow’em up kind of movie. This film is smart, sincere and brings the fun back that we say in the original film of this series. I can clearly state that when it comes to sequels, MIB has a 1-1 record. I’m not eager to see how the tiebreaker goes, and I think the fans who were watching me are eager to check that out too. I had a lot of fun watching this movie, and if you were a fan of the other two (especially the first) then you will really enjoy this sequel, which unlike the first sequel was a resounding success.

Rating: 8 (Out of 10)