Despite my earlier reservations about Men in Black III, my longing to continue the Memorial Day “movie date” tradition was more crucial. Also, the film selection was so meager this year that my wife and I almost entertained the idea of rewatching The Avengers instead.
Men in Black III exceeded my expectations, albeit by a margin (it wasn’t bad). As in prior installments, MIB III works best when Agents K (Mr. Jones AND Mr. Brolin) and Agent J (Mr. Smith) engage in comical interchanges that beget from their disparate personalities.
Their characterizations remain intact from 1997: Smith’s Agent K is direct, no-nonsense and Smith remains the wise-cracker and outsider, even though he’s considered a veteran after 14 years. Their chemistry has continuously offset the lackluster plots–a constant issue I have had with The Men in Black series.
In this installment, a vengeful alien goes back in time to kill Agent K and stop a protective shield from forming around the earth so his fellow species can conquer the planet in the present. When history is changed, K disappears from existence and the Earth is about to be attacked. Why would they wait 40 years to attack the Earth anyway?
J is the only one who remembers K was alive, which is partially explained, but doesn’t make a lick of sense. K travels back to 1969 to preserve history and save his friend.
The villain is portrayed by non other than Jermaine Clement, the songwriter and performer from Flight of the Concords. His villainy lacks any real originality and Clement’s comic appeal is lost beneath the makeup and uninspired dialog.
Men in Back III was originally plagued by script issues during production–the script wasn’t finished! Surprisingly the story never falls apart, but there are still some plot holes and elements that remain unexplained.
In fairness, the whole purpose of the script was to place Will Smith in 1969. There are some funny moments such as the secret behind Andy Warhol’s true identity and the additional purpose of the moon landings.
Like the prior two, MIB III excels when it showcases the inner workings behind the Men in Black organization, such as the secret pathways, the true identities of famous people, or the methods the organization takes to keep its secrets. None of this incarnation’s in-jokes beat my favorite gag of the entire series: the revelation that The National Enquirer is the most legitimate news resource. Also, a Men in Black film set in 1969 that doesn’t feature at least one equality-preaching alien hippie seems like a waist.
There aren’t even funny references to celebrities who are revealed to be aliens incognito, unless you look real very closely at the MIB video monitoring systems in the background. (My wife and I took turns noticing that Lady Gaga and Tim Burton are both aliens. Duh!)
It’s a shame that much of the obvious gags to come from the 1969 setting are brushed aside to push the uninteresting plot forward. Men in Black III seems rushed and settles on amusing audiences just enough so they can leave the theater happy and get screeners primed for the next showtime. The characters are fun, but there is never any sense of growth, even when one interesting tidbit of J’s past is revealed. However, MIB III has its share of funny and even one touching moment. It’s just good enough to recommend, but my original feelings remain. I left the theater forgetting most of what I witnessed and remain convinced that Mr. Smith and Mr. Jones can put their glasses away.
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