Men in Black III

As a fan of the Men in Black, I was interested in seeing this movie. I understand why critics like it better than "Men in Black II" but as for myself, I prefer the second film to this one for a number of reasons. "Men in Black III" is still fun and it has better drama than the second movie, which is why other critics enjoy it more than "Men in Black II".

This idea for this movie came from Will Smith so that is cool. The first reason however as to why I do not like this movie as much as the other films is that it has been too much time since the second installment. Will has lost a little bit of his hipness with age for example. Also, the character of Jay is fully experienced as an agent in this third movie and I liked the comedy that came from his rookie years. Things worked out for the Indiana Jones franchise (don't hate me for saying that) but part of the appeal of the Men in Black franchise is its timing. The 1990's were in need of a movie like unto "Ghostbusters". First two Men in Black films came out at the right time but it has been so long since those films were made that the originality of the first film is far in the past. Even though I enjoy somewhat that there is a more serious villain in "Men in Black III" than in previous films, this is part of the second reason why I am less entertained. The balance of humor and action was off in the whole film. The first villain the MIB went up against, Edgar, was dangerous but humorous at the same time so as to blend with the mood of the overall film. Boris just seemed out of place when compared to the hip MIB. A third reason is the absence of some of our favorite characters. Zed's passing for example contributed to the film's new mood. The worms' musical tribute to Zed was funny at least. A final reason as to why this third show was tad unsatisfactory was the design. The original film had a 1960's feel that was well blended with the modern world of the 90's hence its Oscar nomination. The second movie saw a little of modernization but only very little. In "Men in Black III", it looks like Steve Jobs bought headquarters. Everything is quite sleek and sterile. There was too much white for my taste.

There are other criticisms I have as well. It seems to be a tradition that when a MIB film is made, the ending is changed. In the case of this movie however, the ending wasn't even known when filming began. The other movies had finished scripts and the endings were just slightly altered in post-production. The fact that the script was not finished when filming was undertaken is a factor of why the movie doesn't work as well as the other films. Sometimes you can get lucky but not every time. It was obvious to me that the film's climax would involve Apollo 11 because Cape Canaveral and July 1969 are mentioned early. I would have preferred that plot point to have been a little more subtler like it was in "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me". Most time travel movies have paradoxes and in this movie, if the young Boris were killed by Kay, wouldn't the trip back in time for both Jay and modern day Boris not happen. Oh, well. I am just being picky. I wanted a Will Smith song to end this movie. That was an important part of the earlier films in my book. I will mention some of the good points of "Men in Black III". For the most part, Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones were entertaining but I would have liked to see more of Jones. Josh Brolin's work is really good. His performances in "W" and "True Grit" are noteworthy but to replicate a young Tommy Lee Jones and do just fine shows real talent. Sometimes he sounds just like Jones but other times he seems a little different. This works perfectly however because the young Kay is a slightly different man than the Kay we know. I love the bowling scene thanks to humorous moments from both Will and Brolin. There was some nice chemistry from them in that scene. Other funny moments for me include Will's acknowledgment of the Black Panthers in The Factory and director Barry Sonnenfeld's cameo as the 1930's jumper. My favorite new character was Griffin as played by Michael Scherzinger. That character had the perfect mix of comedy and drama that we expect from an MIB film. The story includes the "Miracle Mets" of '69 and that was smart. In the climax, I love how Jay defeats future Boris. It is Boris' reaction as performed by Jemaine Clement that makes Jay's triumph so cool. A great joke in the ending is the Apollo 11 astronauts' reaction to seeing Kay. I would have reacted the same way as they did to be honest. The twist ending with the little boy was pretty smart also mostly because the younger Kay doesn't know who the little boy is. The concluding joke with Griffin was quite good too.

This movie could have been a lot worse as was the case with "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End", "Shrek the Third" and "The Matrix Revolutions". I would have really liked "Men in Black III" if the design wasn't altered, there was better balance of comedy & adventure and some cherished characters had made reprises. Also, Lady Gaga was the only funny cameo and I wanted more of that. As for a fourth film, I feel that the filmmakers should cash in their chips and leave the franchise as a trilogy. Now that the 90's are over and 10 years have passed, the originality of the franchise is gone. Should a "Men in Black IV" be made, the franchise I am sure would suffer a similar fate as the aforementioned franchises.

3.5 Stars