Men In Black 3

MEN IN BLACK 3

Will Smith and Co. try to revive the MIB franchise with a semi-entertaining sequel.

The man in black. Photo by my dad, also seeing MIB3.

2012, Action/Sci-Fi, Rated PG-13

Distributed by Columbia Pictures

          What makes Men In Black 3 such a welcomed surprise is its terrible predecessor. Men In Black 2 was a total misfire and left fans of the first instalment scratching their heads. No one thought a second sequel would make it to the big screen, especially over a decade later, but here it is, and unfortunately, it wasn't worth the wait.

          A whole decade later I expected something fresh, something new, to be added to the mix of things but that never really shows up in MIB3. There is of course the time travel aspect, and Josh Brolin's portrayal of the 1969 K, but the film just feels tired, and overplayed. K and J interact the same way the whole movie. J, played by Will Smith, teases K, Tommy Lee Jones/Josh Brolin, for being too stern, too serious, never letting loose. The jokes get old real fast, especially because they were a' plenty in the trailers. Will Smith is funny as usual and charming as he possibly can be but he can't hold the whole movie up himself with a few cute one-liners. Even the special effects are pretty much rubbish.

          The original Men In Black was a great sci-fi actioner for its time. The whole thing felt dirty and gritty, displaying the uglier side of space aliens. The ending was the perfect payoff, finally seeing the villain in his true form, as a hideous but well-animated giant cockroach. There was none of that in MIB3. The villain is creepy and has some cool alien body parts but he never reveals his true form. He does for a second but it wasn't enough. The climax of this film felt boring because of this.

          These movies are all the same thing. They go into a back alley shop to get answers and the person behind the counter ends up being an alien. It's like EVERYONE is an alien in the MIB universe, why do they hide? The first few creature action scenes are all recycled from earlier MIB movies. The whole thing felt hollow from the start.

          Like I said, Will Smith is very funny and provides many laughs but it's not enough. Other actors play great supporting roles, including A Serious Man's Michael Stuhlbarg as a five-dimensional alien called Griffin. Bill Hader plays an excellent Andy Warhol and Jamaine Clement was very impressive as a villain. Tommy Lee Jones was hardly in it and Josh Brolin did a good job but his character was kind of boring.

          Men In Black 3 feels like an old model car, struggling to stick out in a technologically advanced world. The special effects are barely updated and the action scenes have become no more intense, perhaps less so. It's the same old MIB but the rest of us, and more importantly action movies in general, have all moved on.

          Side note: The more I think about it, the more I liked Jamaine Clement as the villain. He brought memories of Tim Curry as "IT" or Dr. Frank-N-Furter. Good performance in a not-so-good movie.