Men in Black: International

The Men in Black franchise may as well be the ultimate embodiment of the Law of Diminishing Returns. The first film was a clever, out-of-the-box summer movie that was really ahead of its time with its view on Earth’s place in a vast universe while still being a crowd-pleasing buddy cop movie that happened to involve space aliens. But with each passing movie, the filmmakers were just content to reuse the same story rather than try to expand the universe of the franchise into new and exciting territory. Which is why I was a little hopeful when I heard the next Men in Black film wasn’t going to be about Agents K and J and would instead focus on a new cast of characters. Was my hope justified? Short answer: no. Long answer: read on.

Twenty years ago in Brooklyn, a young girl named Molly witnesses her parents being neuralyzed by the Men in Black after an encounter with an alien. In the present, Molly (Tessa Thompson), shaken by her experience, has been searching for the Men in Black in hopes of joining the agency. She successfully finds them and is trained until she becomes a probationary agent. Her first assignment involves travelling to the London branch of the MIB led by Agent T (Liam Neeson) and teaming up with Agent H (Chris Hemsworth) to protect a small powerful device and blah, blah, blah. You’ve seen the previous movies, so you know what’s gonna happen.

I’m usually the first guy to get annoyed when film critics knock a movie down for being formulaic and predictable since I’m a firm believer in the verse from Ecclesiastes: “There’s nothing new under the sun.” But when a franchise has done the exact same movie for the past 22 years, then it starts to get really irritating. To be fair, this film does try to pull a few gotchas with its plot, but they’re not well-executed and you can see them coming from a mile away. Other than that, same basic story again. Another buddy-cop setup, another small but actually all-powerful device, and SO many repetitions of that damn Danny Elfman tune! And it all just kinda goes through the motions with bland cinematography and camera movement, which surprised me very much since I can count on director F. Gary Gray to deliver thrilling action sequences.

Now, that’s not to say this film is a total wash. Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson have successfully brought their top-tier chemistry from the MCU, French dancer brothers Laurent and Larry Bourgeois – known professionally as Les Twins – give a great acting debut as the film’s main antagonists, who actually have really cool designs, and actor Kumail Nanjiani gives a great comedic vocal turn as Pawny, a small alien who comes along for the ride with H and Molly. I also somewhat enjoyed Rebecca Ferguson as Riza, an alien arms dealer and an old flame of H’s, almost to the point where I wished she had a bigger role in the movie.

 So, all in all, not a terrible movie, but nothing you need to go rush out and see. And Sony, just let this franchise die already. Or at the very least, wait two decades until you decide to make another one. But hey, that’s just my feelings on the matter.