Men In Black: International
Nathan Swank
June 14th, 2019
Can you believe it has been 22 years since the first MEN IN BLACK came out? The 1997 science fiction comedy staring Tommy Lee Jones and a then newly found blockbuster goldmine in Will Smith, still holds up as the series best. After a bad sequel and a mildly amusing third installment in 2012, MEN IN BLACK: INTERNATIONAL changes up the cast with THOR: RAGNAROK’s Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson, hoping to revive new life into the series. Well the answer is a resounding… “Meh.”
What can I say about MEN IN BLACK: INTERNATIONAL? It’s fun! Kinda. It should have been more fun. It is funny though! Well, sometimes. It should have probably been funnier. I really like the two new leads! But I wish they had a little more to do. I enjoyed seeing Liam Neeson and Emma Thompson as a couple of higher ranking agents! But again, I wish they had a little more humor written for them. I did really like Kumail Nanjiani voicing the tiny character Pawny (because he’s a little pawn creature from a chess board). That’s true! I did like him a lot! He steals every scene he’s in. In fact, if it wasn’t for him, I’d probably give this movie a negative review. Not so much for being bad but just for having the absence of being very good.
We meet Agent M (Tessa Thompson) when she was a little girl name Molly. Some furry little creature made its way into her room. Before she helps it escape she witnesses a couple of agents zap her parents memory with a neuralyzer. She works her whole life to track down and become part of the Men in Black agency. After achieving the impossible she is paired with Agent H (Chris Hemsworth), who was once believed to be the best but is now more of a reckless mess-up. However, his charisma and go-getter attitude pairs nicely with Agent M’s clever Hermione Granger do-the-right-thing, yet eager to try everything attitude. In fact, they could have spent more time developing her as the lead. When a mole is thought to have possibly infiltrated the MIB, Agent M and Agent H must cross many locations and many wacky characters to secretly save the world from a couple of scary energy-based aliens.
Director F. Gary Gray (THE FATE OF THE FURIOUS, STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON, BE COOL, ITIALIAN JOB) is simply missing an extra edge of exciting visuals to put this film over the top. Again, it’s not that it’s bad, it’s just sorta forgettable. More alien sight gags please. There simply isn’t enough sustainable material to rely on to cram more of whatever into MEN IN BLACK: INTERNATIONAL.
The screenplay from Matt Holloway and Art Marcum needs more humor and more memorable moments. Not that the film was void of these things, they just needed more to be a truly entertaining summer movie.
There are some funny moments along with a couple of great scenes and unique characters, but nothing with a long-lasting impression. Lots of jokes and gimmicks are rehashed or are simply not that clever. Bottom line – It should have been more of whatever you might be expecting. And don’t expect a Smith or Jones cameo other than a painting of the two. I think the 10 to 16-year-olds are gonna have a blast with MEN IN BLACK: INTERNATIONAL, while the rest of us will find the harmlessly average movie, pleasant enough to pass us by.
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