Back in Black, Time, & Style!!! Third Men in Black Installment Dilivers Great Fun and Even Greater Surprises
By: Brandon Porter
"K?"
"How Do You Know My Name?"- Agent J and Young Agent K
 |
| The Dynamic Duo of Agent J & K |
The Story
14 years ago, Agent J (Will Smith) and Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) became partners in the Men in Black, the extraterrestrial peacekeeping organization of Earth. Now, it seems that their partnership has become somewhat strained after so many years fighting alien baddies. When K's old nemesis Boris the Animal (Jemaine Clement) escapes from the prison on the moon, K becomes increasingly hostile and J discovers there is a secret that is being kept from him even with him being a high class ranked agent. But suddenly K mysteriously disappears and J discovers that K has been dead for forty years. Puzzled by the strange turn of events, J concludes that Boris went back in time and killed K which in turn resulted in present day New York falling under attack from an alien invasion. J must now travel back in time to the year 1969 where he will meet up with a younger version of K (Josh Brolin) and attempt to save his life and prevent the inevitable alien siege. The Men in Black are Back...In Time!!!
 |
| Agent J and Young Angent K (Josh Brolin) with Griffin (Michael Stuhlbarg). |
Men in Black 3 marks the first time since 2002 that the Sci-Fi comedy series has been in theaters. You would think that after ten years, the Men in Black series would have died out and been forgotten. But there are still fans out there who remember the classic original in 1997 and after a lackluster second installment, longed to see the franchise return to form. The end result was actually better than anticipated. Men in Black 3 was of course not as good as the original, but light years better than the second. In addition to a very solid 68% on Rotten Tomatoes, Men in Black 3 also became the first film in the Summer Movie Season to take down Marvel's The Avengers and claim the top spot at the box office on Memorial Day weekend. Movie Critic Roger Ebert gave the film 3 out of 4 stars praising Josh Brolin's performance as K and for the film's plot, bizarre monsters, and climactic sequence. Men in Black 3 earned a total of $54 million dollars on opening weekend and a worldwide gross of $212 Million. Overall, Men In Black 3 performed well in its overall state. Though it didn't best the original it is good to know the film crew learned and fixed the mistakes of the second.
 |
| J & K chase down Boris in their fast and reliable high speed Motorcycles |
When Men in Black 3 was announced, I found myself with some skepticism brewing inside of me. With the original being a childhood favorite and being less than impressed with the second installment, finding out that another film was being made after ten years left me a little bit iffy. I'm happy to say, it was a pleasant trip to the movies. Men in Black 3 is a tremendous step forward for the franchise. One of the brightest spots was Will Smith. Will brought the great charm and wise cracking attitude that made him famous in the first film and in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Aire. Even in dull moments, Smith would say something to get me through the brief boredom. Although Will Smith was a huge bright spot, Josh Brolin really steals the show as young Agent K. Brolin brought the same type of demeanor as Tommy Lee Jones while giving the character a fresher and more likeable persona. In addition, Smith and Brolin's chemistry really shined in the film, it was almost like they had worked together many times prior to this film. Michael Stuhlbarg and Jemaine Clement give good performances as Griffin and Boris, who is possibly the creepiest villain in the franchise. As far as negatives, the amount of action kind of lacked in this film. The bike chase was fast and fun and the climactic battle was satisfying, but I would have liked to see maybe one or two more action sequences in the mix. The great news is what the film lacks in action, it makes up for in substance. The film's plot was the biggest surprise to me. When reading the synopsis, I knew there was a secret and I knew J would eventually find out. But when the secret was revealed, it took me completely by surprise, knowing that J was actually destined to be part of the Men in Black in his father's place after being killed by Boris and that K had been watching over him for years was brilliant. The writer's did a very good job at throwing a curve ball and giving audiences the unexpected. All in all, this was definitely a great summer film with good humor, solid performances, and decent action. I feel that the frachise is back on track to improve and build on the success of this latest installment.
Rating and Final Thoughs
84% B-
The best Men in Black film to date. Still not as good as the first but a huge step up from the second. With mostly everyone coming back from the director to the actors, they have clearly taken the nessasry steps to keep the franchise going.
 |
| Josh Brolin and Will Smith make a great team on screen. Thanks to that, They have possibly saved this series of films from slipping into another one of Hollywood's underachieving accomplishments. |
No comments:
Post a Comment