It's a surprise to see a new film in the Men In Black franchise, given that the last movie, Men in Black II, came out ten years ago. However, the premise for this one seemed interesting, and although it slows down in the middle of it, overall it's a fun film and worth seeing.
Agent J (Will Smith, Seven Pounds) and Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones, The Company Men) have been partners for a while now, but K still has secrets he's keeping from J. When they meet Boris the Animal (Jemaine Clement, Rio) and K seems to have a past with him, J is not surprised. What does surprise J, however, is when he wakes up the next day and goes to work, and no one even remembers who K is. Agent O (Emma Thompson, Nanny McPhee Returns) tells J that Agent K was killed in Cape Canaveral, Florida, over forty years ago. J deduces that something happened in the past that did not happen originally - originally, K shot off one of Boris's arms and was able to establish the ArcNet, which protects Earth from aliens - so J decides to go back into the past to make things right again.
Josh Brolin (True Grit) plays the younger Agent K, in the past, and he has Tommy Lee Jones' mannerisms and facial expressions down to a T; he's great in the role. They also meet a sort-of psychic, Griffin (Michael Stuhlbarg, TV's Boardwalk Empire) who plays an interesting role - he's able to foresee a number of different futures, and he provides comedic relief at times too. The cars and clothing of the late '60s is done well too, and Will Smith, as in the other Men in Black movies, steals the show as Agent J.
Yes, see this film. I was debating giving this movie 3 out of 5 stars and a "Maybe" review, but the ending is great and has a bit of a twist, and the gadgets seen throughout the film are awesome too. There's still a lot of humor here, including a few "laugh out loud" moments, but I'd like to re-watch the other Men In Black movies at some point to compare; though I've seen both, the last one came out in 2002, and the original in 1997. There's a few homages to these sprinkled throughout the film, however, and keep an eye out for some celebrities faces sprinkled throughout - if you look closely, Lady Gaga's face is in one of the TV-type boards at MIB headquarters, suggesting she is an alien (or associated with aliens), which I thought was a fun touch.
Men in Black III is in theaters today, May 25th, and is rated PG-13 with a runtime of 106 minutes. 3.5 stars out of 5.
With the Men in Black 3 game, you can create and manage your own MIB agency by training agents and giving them missions to accomplish. You also travel through time to differing areas of New York such as Central Park, Times Square, and Brooklyn, in both 2012 and 1969.
The MIB3 game is FREE (my favorite word) on iTunes and in the Google Play Store.
Click here if MIB III Trailer is not shown
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Liz Parker is a 2009 graduate of the University of Michigan. She currently works as an Assistant Medical Editor for a pathology website. Visit her at her movie blog Yes/No Films
