MEN IN BLACK 3 - Agents J & K Still Gets The 'L'

MEN IN BLACK III (sci-fi comedy in 3D & IMAX)
Cast: Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin, Jemaine Clement, Michael Stuhlbarg, Emma Thompson, Alice Eve and Nicole Scherzinger
Director: Barry Sonnenfeld
Screenplay: Etan Cohen, David Koepp, Jeff Nathanson, Michael Soccio and Lowell Cunningham (comics).  
Time: 105 mins
Rating:  *  *  * (out of 4)

Brolin and Smith in MiB 3

PREAMBLE: Well, whaddaya know, the MiB have gone MiA for 10 years already! No wonder many of us have forgotten about them as the Men In Cape and bodysuits (aka The Avengers, Batman, Spider-Man, et al) hog the cinemas while the Men In Black go missing-in-action. No matter, they are still a barrel of fun in this third outing that comes as more of a surprise than a treat that we have been waiting for.

And with Barry Sonnenfeld back at the helm of this US$215-million production, it is a nostalgic film in more ways than one.

WHAT'S IT ABOUT? Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones reprise their roles as agents J and K of the secret Men in Black organisation that monitors alien activity on Earth. The 'odd-couple' have their work cut out for them when extra-terrestrial serial killer Boris the Animal (Jemaine Clement) escapes from his maximum security prison on the moon and travels back in time to kill K.

Since only J remembers K's existence, it’s up to him to travel through time, look for a young K (now played by Josh Brolin) and stop Boris from destroying the world once and for all. 

Nicole Scherzinger as Boris' girlfriend

HITS & MISSES: I have never been a fan of time-travel plots and I still don't like them here. However, the time-travel subplot here is just to provide the Back To The Future fantasy to the MiB franchise. The narrative, as well as the mood and tone of the movie, are light-hearted, fun and always on the outer limits of credibility. Again, it is nice to see how a deadpan face like Jones' can generate so much mirth. The Smith & Jones pairing is augmented by Brolin who gives a good representation of how K would be in the Sixties, with most of the sequences accompanied by popular Sixties hits on the soundtrack. 

One of the staple jokes of the MiB series is the celebrity cameos that suggest alien origins. In MiB3, we have a 'twist' that suggests a certain pop art personality is an undercover MiB agent! Still, the mainstay of the MiB series is Rick Baker's creature designs and make-up. Rendered in 3D, the 'monster show' does not disappoint, especially that of a huge fish that attacks diners at a Chinese restaurant. Oh yes, there are also a couple of cool vehicles like the giant wheel hover-bikes (pic, below) used by Agents J and K.

THE LOWDOWN: Agents J and K still provide the L!