HER VERDICT: "Good. Not great. But good."
In this third installment of the highly successful movie franchise, Smith's Agent J travels back in time to save Agent K. Wackiness insues.
There's not a whole lot to say about Men in Black 3. If you liked the first two installments, you'll probably like this one. It follows the same vein and gives you more of what you liked in the first. Although, as I write this, I realize that this movie was slightly more grounded than the others. You see only in the background things that were highlighted in the previous films: celebrity aliens, the worm guys and Frank the pug to name a few. This film had more heart than the others and was a bit less campy. But only a bit. Will Smith was still Will Smith- funny and sarcastic. Tommy Lee Jones was still grumpy and surly. Josh Brolin does a very cool Tommy Lee Jones imitation. And Emma Thompson is brilliant and radiant. (You may have to take this last one with a grain of salt because 1) I ADORE Emma Thompson and just about everything she does I find ABSOLUTELY AMAZING, and 2) I'm an anglophile so I'm already pre-disposed to love her simply because she's British.)
There's a nice twist to this film that you don't see coming, but seems to fit and bring everything full circle. When you've got a couple of hours to kill, go ahead and check it out.You won't regret it.
HIS VERDICT: "Definitely worth watching."
Men in Black 3 was just that- Men in Black 3. I didn't expect it to be the best movie I'd ever seen, but with the returning cast I felt it wouldn't be terrible. It turned out to be a good movie, exciting and funny, with heart. I enjoyed it and had a good time watching it. It had everything you would expect from a MIB movie: strange-looking aliens, famous people revealed as aliens, space guns and a really weird bad guy.
Josh Brolin's performance surprised me by being pretty phenomenal. He seemed not only to mimic Tommy Lee Jones' mannerisms but his personality as well. He became the character as Tommy Lee Jones has established him. It felt like I was watching a younger Tommy Lee Jones. Will Smith's performace was very good as well. But this wasn't new. It's been that way for the other two films, too. Smith and Jones seemed to fall right back into these characters and not miss a beat.
At their heart the MIB's have been buddy cop movies, and with those the status quo hardly ever changes. It is the relationship between the cops that evolves. This film has more evolution than the other two combined. Agent J finds out much more about K in this movie, as does the audience. And in the end we see their relationship in a whole new light. The movie ends and leaves an opening for more to come but also enough closure that it's okay if it just ends there. If this is the last film, I'll gladly wait for the three movie box set.
