"Men in Black 3" Review

    The Men in Black are back. Back in time that is! Heh, get it? Aw, shut up and just read the review. This is Men in Black 3!

    Yes, after 14 years off the big screen the Agent K and Agent J are back in another extraterrestrial adventure. This time around the evil alien Boris the Animal (Jemaine Clement) escapes from prison and goes back in time to kill Agent K (Tommy Lee-Jones). When his partner Agent J (Will Smith) finds out, he travels back to 1969, teams up with young K (Josh Brolin) and clairvoyant alien Griff (Michael Stuhlbarg) to stop Boris.
    I personally love the first Men in Black and I think that the second one is actually pretty good. But, for the most part, sequels that come out this far from when the originals were popular tend to not be as good (Remember Johnny English Reborn?). And even though I did like the second movie, it was nowhere near as good as the first one and tried to re-hash most of it, with much less effective results. And while this third installment does do different things, the result is pretty mixed.

Now, just because you don't like the food...

    Don't get me wrong. Men in Black 3 is a good movie. It's just too... okay. Tommy Lee-Jones is clearly done with the series. He hardly appears in more than ten minutes, does his no emotion routine and gets killed. Josh Brolin however, does a great job pretty much being Tommy Lee-Jones. His impression is spot on and he brings a nice warmth and energy to the role. Will Smith does as good as he usually does and never once seems like he's in it for the paycheck, which is nice.
    The problem is that for the most part the humor is all over the place. The first act before J goes back in time is very boring, with most of the jokes coming off as half-finished punchlines. However, once J does travel back in time, the laughs, while not nearly as numerous as the first movie's, are there and the story picks up too. The new character, Griff, is very likable and pretty funny. But, it is clear that the film shot while the script wasn't completely done. The story is messy, with many plotpoints having that sort of just go with it mentaility. That's fine for what the movie is, but those hoping for more should look elsewhere.


Baseball! Because why not!

     Men in Black 3 is not the return of the MiB we were looking forward too. But, as long awaited sequels go, this one could have been a lot worse. The humor is fine, the story is mildly interesting and the cast (For the most part) are still game. While this latest entry won't ruin the series, it's probably time for J and K to hang up their suits. Men in Black 3 gets 4 and a half stars out of 6.