Movie Review – Men in Black 3

Plot : In Men in Black 3 (MIB3), Agents J (Will Smith) and K (Tommy Lee Jones) are back… in time. J has seen some inexplicable things in his 15 years with the Men in Black, but nothing, not even aliens, perplexes him as much as his wry, reticent partner. But when K’s life and the fate of the planet are put at stake, Agent J will have to travel back in time to put things right. J discovers that there are secrets to the universe that K never told him — secrets that will reveal themselves as he teams up with the young Agent K (Josh Brolin) to save his partner, the agency, and the future of humankind.

in cinema’s on the 24.05.12

Men in Black 3 avoids the curse of the likes of Spider-Man 3 and X-Men: The Last Stand and instead ends up being the best film in the Men in Black franchise. A crazy, wild ride, of the alien-kind, that will leave you wanting more.


What we thought: We found the movie surprisingly entertaining, especially since we watched it in IMAX 3D. It started off weak, but the story-line did eventually pick up, and with it, the action. MIB3 should at any rate, be watched in 3D as many of the highlights of the movie are scenes that involve falling from highrise buildings, swinging and fighting on precariously high launch scaffolding, jumping onto rockets about to lift off, and not to mention being assaulted by aliens snort and tonsils exploding all over the place. The visual effects are impressive, although there are a handful of scenes where effects do look like effects. Rick Baker’s aliens look superb (especially the retro designs in 1969) and they are all even more impressive, gruesome and wacky, than those which have come before. The set designers also deserve a pat on the back for the wonderful job they did of creating an authentic and entirely believable 1969 setting.

In MIB3, fast forward ten years and this installment was definitely much better than MIB2. Director Barry Sonnenfeld and screenwriter Etan Cohen find a good balance of humour, action and impressive visual effects. Will Smith (Agent J) is reunited with Tommy Lee Jones (Agent K) in the first act of the film. However, the escape of the revenge-fuelled Boris The Animal (Jemaine Clement) from a lunar prison means J is forced to head back in time. The villain jumped back to 1969 to kill K and only Agent J can stop this plus the world from alien invasion. If K dies in the past, earth will be destroyed.

Will Smith delivers a solid performance as expected. However, it ends up being Josh Brolin’s younger Agent K who steals the show as the actor delivers a performance which is entirely his own despite being clearly influenced by Jones’s mannerisms. As his younger incarnation, in a parallel universe, Josh Brolin somehow manages to do a better Tommy Lee Jones than Tommy Lee Jones! What makes it even funnier is the way Smith looks at him, with a sideways grin, as if he can’t quite believe it either. Emma Thompson’s O is on fine form as the head of the Men in Black, and Alice Eve who plays the younger version of O, was really hot, and had some fantastic chemistry with K. The cast is also great fun to watch, with a brilliantly eccentric character, Griffin, played by Michael Stuhlbarg and Bill Hader’s take on Andy Warhol, results in some of the funniest scenes in the movie!

A rather entertaining show. A morning well spent – go watch it!

Watch the Trailer:

 

4 Comments

  • Lee Kim Kong says:

    I can’t wait to watch it. Does it make a difference between 3D and regular? Did 3D bring out things like to alien features better?

  • Sean says:

    oooh, i wouldn’t mind watching this one. might bring back happy memories of the original men in black, which i think i watched during my second year of university! gosh, and will smith looks like he’s hardly aged in all those years, heheh 😀

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