I walked in to Men in Black 3 with absolutely no
expectations, which is probably the best way to go about this film. It's
enjoyable, but there's nothing particularly spectacular or remarkable about it.
However, this might be the best film in the franchise, simply because I can't
recall much about the first two movies.
The plot consists of Agent J (Will Smith) trying to prevent Agent K's (Tommy
Lee Jones) death in the present by traveling to the 1960s to thwart the
assassin Boris the Animal (Jemaine Clement). Boris is trying to rewrite the
past and prevent the loss of his arm and the annihilation of his alien race.
Yes, it's as ridiculous on screen as it sounds. Strangely, it all works,
probably in large part to Josh Brolin's performance as a young Agent K, a
frighteningly accurate mimicry of Jones' mannerisms and speech patterns. It's both
impressive and a little disturbing. Jemaine Clement as the villain seems
extremely predictable and almost laughable, but that seems to work within the Men in Black universe.
Thankfully, Men in Black 3 avoids the
pitfall of being too heavily dependent on the previous films and relying on old
standby jokes. Sure, some old jokes are very briefly highlighted in this most
recent installment, but it doesn't overshadow anything. Rather than try to pretend
that Smith and Jones haven't aged, the 14-year passage since their partnership
began is repeatedly mentioned. Both characters return to their roles smoothly:
Smith is still the loudmouthed partner, and Jones remains as stoic and
unflappable as ever.
The attention to detail in
recreating the 1960s is admirable and is comparable with something like Mad Men. The special effects have gotten
much better than the previous films in the series, but the 3-D is entirely
unnecessary. The biggest surprise is the apparent attempt at character
development by looking at events that happened in the 1960s and seeing how they
impact the characters in present day. Men
in Black 3 is an enjoyable film, but it isn't particularly memorable.
