Movie Review: Men In Black III

Men In Black III  $$$ 1/2

 PG-13

106 Minutes
Starring: Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith, Josh Brolin, and Jemaine Clement.
Director: Barry Sonnenfeld

            Seldom is a sequel as good as the original unless you’re talking about a franchise like the Bond movies. Even rarer is the situation where the sequel is better than the original. My wife and I both agreed that we liked the third installment of the Men In Black series the best.

            As the movie begins we find Agents K (Tommy Lee Jones) and J (Will Smith) going about MIB business. Agent K’s surly factor is way into the “red” zone – even for him.

            Meanwhile, at the secret lunar maximum security alien prison (Yep, we have one, but it’s not secret anymore because I just told you about it) Boris the Animal escapes. Boris (Jemaine Clement) makes it back to Earth and is able to travel back in time where he kills a younger Agent K and thereby changing the time line.
            Only Agent J is aware of the change and he has to travel back in time to stop Boris from killing a younger version of his partner. Along the way he gets help from an alien from the fifth dimension, Griffin (Michael Stuhlbarg).
            The rest you’ll have to find out on your own.

            The acting is excellent, although Tommy Lee Jones looked like he might be slowing down a bit. Jemaine Clement was excellent as the villain and I am a firm believer that a strong story requires a strong character in the role of the villain. Josh Brolin did an amazing job as the younger Agent K.

            Visually, this was an effective movie. The special effects that bring the aliens to life were great; especially Boris and his creepy hand pet. The quality of the technical aspects of the film was what you would expect from a top property like MIB.
            And the writing? That is what made this the best movie in the series.  After seeing this in the theater, my wife and I watched the original at home. I was interested in finding out why we liked this one better. The original had a much higher yuck factor, but that isn’t what made the difference. This latest MIB connected with the audience on a more personal level. Sure, the original had Agent K in an unresolved love story and that reached a satisfying conclusion. In this one the personal drama is much more up front and a part of the main plot. We may have laughed with the characters in the original movie, but in this film we grow closer to them. And that makes a difference.
            You’ll want to see this movie on one of the first-run screens to get all the benefits of the special effects they packed into it. As much as I enjoyed it, I think you can wait for a matinee to see it. Then again, maybe not. I didn’t.
 

            Randy’s Rating System

$$$$   = Full Price    See this movie right away and pay full price, it’s worth it.

$$$     = Matinee      Catch this as a matinee or other discounted showing.
$$        = Discount     Wait until this movie reaches a discount theater near you.
$          = Rental         Wait until this movie reaches your local video rental outlet.
0          = No Sale       Don’t see this movie at any price.