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It’s been a decade since Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones last donned their black suits and Ray-Bans for Men in Black II, the less-than-successful sequel to director Barry Sonnenfeld’s 1997 alien-hunting hit. When reports of a follow-up started popping up, I think it’s safe to say that most of us where surprised—and maybe a little bit perplexed. But it seems as though the years have been kind to the Men in Black—because the third film in the franchise is an unexpected improvement on the second.
Even after 14 years as partners, hunting down rogue aliens together as Men in Black agents, Agent J (Smith) has yet to break through the wall that stone-faced Agent K (Jones) always keeps around him. But when Boris the Animal (Jemaine Clement), a menace from K’s past, escapes from prison on the moon and travels back in time to kill his nemesis, J gets to experience K’s past firsthand.
One morning after Boris’s escape, J wakes to find that K no longer exists. Though he remembers his partner, everyone else seems to think that K died in action 40 years ago. Without K, the planet is in danger of attack, so J finds a way to follow Boris to 1969—to save a younger K (Josh Brolin) before it’s too late.
Like the original film in the franchise, Men in Black III is an over-the-top out-of-this-world adventure, complete with creepy-looking characters, plenty of alien slime, and a delightfully campy sense of humor. It’s a movie for the young—and the young at heart.
This time around, director Barry Sonnenfeld gets the casting (and the characters) just right. Once again, Smith displays the kind of laid-back charm that made him a huge box office draw earlier in his career. Watching him as Agent J is like watching the Fresh Prince battle villains from another planet while he effortlessly tosses out one-liners—which isn’t a bad thing at all. Meanwhile, Jones, as K, makes the perfect partner for the wise-cracking younger agent. He seems to be as sour and as surly as ever, which makes the pairing all the more enjoyable.
Really, though, it’s the franchise newcomers who make the film more than just another ho-hum summer action movie. Everyone from Bill Hader (who’s absolutely hilarious as Andy Warhol) to Emma Thompson (who’s calm and collected—yet not afraid to loosen up a bit—as the agency’s new director, Agent O) brings a little something new and hilarious to the story. Michael Stuhlbarg also stands out as Griffin, the mild-mannered alien who can see into the future(s). But it’s Brolin who steals the show with his spot-on performance as the young K. In fact, he’s so good at playing a younger version of Tommy Lee Jones that you might wonder whether Jones himself dubbed all of the lines.
While many summer blockbusters take themselves all too seriously, trying to play up the serious action and drama, Men in Black III is refreshingly light and playful. The cast and crew clearly had fun with their various roles, filling the film with alien action, gimmicky 3D effects, and corny humor—and the film’s easy-going style makes it a fun-filled summer popcorn flick.
