Men in Black III
- Director: Barry Sonnenfeld
- Genre: Comedy, Sci-Fi
- Details: USA/105mins PG
- Release Date: 25/05/2012
Will Smith must be one of the most frustrating actors working in modern cinema. I mean, we can take Johnny Depp and his insistence on churning out the same "quirky" character, (in essentially the same film) to a certain degree - and by that, I mean it's becoming increasingly easier to ignore him. Smith, however is different, because he is almost unfathomably charismatic on screen; capable of switching from strong, serious work in the likes of I Am Legend to effortless comedy in Hitch or Bad Boys. But these days, he's not acting like an actor, he's acting like a business - and that's why we're seeing him in a second sequel to a franchise very few people gave a fuck about to begin with, instead of Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained (which he was offered).
Smith returns to play Agent J, with Tommy Lee Jones donning the funeral attire to play his grumpy partner Agent K once again. The convoluted time travel plot sees a dangerous prisoner escape from a prison on the moon and figure out how to go back in time so he can avenge something that K did. When Smith's J turns up to work the next day, he's told that K was killed on the job 40 years ago. Realising that he must travel back in time - not just to save K, but the world - he ends up in a strange but colourful 1969, where the young K looks a lot like Josh Brolin.
While well made, often slick and generally an impressive production, we didn’t need another Men in Black film - certainly not ten years after the second one came and went like a fart in a hurricane. The plot feels desperate, the newly-introduced characters merely there to buffer the decade-long gap as plot devices; generally, this film aims to cover so many bases that it never really does anything with conviction. There was something innovative about the first Men in Black film that really caught the imagination of the cinema-going public; Smith was firmly on the ascent then, and his pairing with Jones was inspired. Sonnenfeld, too, knew how to handle it tonally and gave the now fourteen-year-old film that elusive blockbuster shine that Hollywood loves. Now, it just feels like a rethread, because that's exactly what it is.
On the plus side, Brolin is great. He has Jones down so well that you'd be forgiven for thinking that The Fugitive Oscar-winner dubbed over the voice. It's an impersonation, but it's what the role called for and he's excellent. Smith has his moments (but not enough of them), while an absent Jones was probably thinking about putting another floor on his house all the way through his brief appearance.
There are some entertaining moments here, but overall, MIB3 serves only as further testament to Will Smith's self-image as a business, rather than an actor - which is a real shame.
Review by Mike Sheridan | 09:00 | Friday 25th May 2012 | Movie Review
Comments
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MovieWatcher85
Your review is a disgrace! You should be ashamed of yourself for writing this review for a PG movie. The level of negativity and vulgar language is not what is expected in any review let alone one that could be viewed by childeren.
Posted 08:53 | Fri 25th May 2012 -
hollabackgal
You really need to get out more buddy! The swearing was a lovely touch! on a proper review and all......wow. I don't think Will Smith will ever be getting upset by one of your reviews somehow. I'd seriously consider some anger management maybe needed??
Posted 19:50 | Fri 25th May 2012 -
KickedArse
Lets all go up to Mike Sheridan's house with torches and some pitchforks. The f**king... oh sorry
Posted 21:19 | Fri 25th May 2012 -
FilmBuff76
There should be a general rule that if a sequel isn't made within 7 years of its predecessor, then it shouldn't be made at all. Such is the case with the tardy Men In Black 3. Attempting to banish thoughts of the middling second part and recapture the magic in the box of the first part, this film is a missed opportunity. The plot is kickstarted by Lunar-based prisoner Boris The Animal, who escapes to Earth and goes back in time to kill Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones). Agent J (Will Smith) follows him back to 1969 to prevent this from happening, encountering a younger version of K in the process (a spot-on impersonation by Josh Brolin). Time travel is always a tricky plot device and one scene involving a child towards the end comes across as gooey sentimental. Rick Baker's amusing, mostly practical creature effects are the real reason to watch, as he concocts a weird array of otherwordly beings. The main cast have settled comfortably into their roles like old shoes, but there's an overall air of laziness about the whole film. It's marginally better than part 2 but that's not saying much. It's hard to imagine a part 4 right now. Time for a reboot, methinks.
Posted 22:50 | Fri 25th May 2012 -
Bjorn264
@Movie Watcher85 Jesus, he cursed once, RELAX unless you are counting fart as a curse word - which if you are, you sound like a boring old one. Anyway, I'm not surprised the review for MIB3 has so much negativity, its Men in Black after all, and I'm shocked Will Smith turned down Tarantino's Django Unchained to do this, but I agree with Mike, he has become a business rather than an actor, but I disagree with him when he suggested I AM LEGEND was anyway credible .
Posted 18:18 | Sat 26th May 2012 -
mikecoughlan
I thought Men in Black was very good really . The time travel part worked very well I thought, and all the new characters were very good, especially the guy who could see into the future . One of the best films I have seen this year .
Posted 12:34 | Mon 28th May 2012 -
Siobhan
I really liked the movie. An easy one to watch, kept me interested throughout. The last 20 seconds of the film was unneccessary though and a tad silly but I would recommend the movie. It might be 10 years since MIB2 but you wouldn't know it to look at Will Smith, that guy just never ages. Doesn't hurt that he is easy on the eye either. Josh Brolin was an excellent younger version of K.
Posted 00:41 | Tue 29th May 2012 -
hellcat1983
I liked this movie and I'm very hard to please. Most movies nowadays are utter tripe, but this was genuinely entertaining and funny with a very sweet ending and great acting from Brolin.
Posted 08:31 | Tue 29th May 2012 -
RichB
My 8 year old read the review as he wanted to find out about it before he was going to try and get me to take him to movie. The language is unnecessary and if you feel that there was an overreaction to its use then you are as much at fault. I for one would appreciate it if the author of the review could please remove the language and try and find some other non offensive way of describing their dislike for MIB2.
Posted 14:10 | Wed 30th May 2012 -
KickedArse
Really, your 8 year old can read that well!? If that's the worst thing he see's on the internet... Personally, I wouldn't read a site aimed at 8 year olds - just me.
Posted 14:38 | Wed 30th May 2012 -
Bjorn264
haha- your 8 year old read the review - REALLY? well as a parent or guardian, it is your RESPONSIBILITY to monitor what your child is looking at, not only on the internet, but also on TV to see if it is appropriate or not for him to view, clearly you have failed as a parent/guardian.
Posted 20:08 | Wed 30th May 2012 -
Nopies
Em just a heads up for the person worried about the language, I saw the film yesterday evening and F@ck and Ba@tar@ were said in the film so maybe the 8 year old shouldnt see it at all?
Posted 14:57 | Wed 6th Jun 2012 -
chell
kickedarse....pmsl at u !!! mad thing..!! like i said before i just make things simple we already have a movie critic dont need to read essays apon essays.... but i must say as a come back after all these years it was very good and entertaining and i'd recommend it!!
Posted 22:21 | Thu 7th Jun 2012 -
john072
Either you're a fan of the series or not, you'll find it very enjoyable. The Men in Black series is still imaginative and fun.
Posted 02:14 | Tue 24th Jul 2012
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