Men in Black: International, 2019.
Directed by F. Gary Gray.
Starring Chris Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson, Rebecca Ferguson, Kumail Nanjiani, Rafe Spall, Laurent Bourgeois, Larry Bourgeois, Emma Thompson, Liam Neeson
SYNOPSIS:
The Men in Black have always protected the Earth from the scum of the universe. In this new adventure, they tackle their biggest, most global threat to date: a mole in the Men in Black organization.
As far as similarities go between the original trilogy and this film, one of the biggest is its sense of chemistry between its two lead protagonists. Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones were remarkable as Agent J and Agent K, respectively, and the exact same thing can and should be said about Hemsworth and Thompson here. This does not mark the first time these two actors have been on screen together, as they have shared the screen together in Thor: Ragnarok and Avengers: Endgame most notably. The chemistry they exude in this film is some of the best of the entire year so far.
Since this is a Men in Black movie, long time fans of the series as well as general moviegoers can expect to see some over the top, zany action sequences that the franchise has become known for at this point. However, do not get your hopes up thinking that there will be dozens of these moments because they are rather limited this time around. It definitely would have been nice to have seen more of the wacky chaos that we are used to thus far. There are really only a handful of these scenes which was a bit of a disappointment, especially considering that this is a series of films in which agents wear sunglasses, tote around gigantic futuristic weaponry and attempt to crack down on other worldly threats.
The humor involved here is one of its biggest problems. It is rather apparent that writers Art Marcum and Matt Holloway were really making an effort to make this a hilarious film with a sense of cleverness to it much like the others, but there are little laughs to be found here which is a big shame. Jokes almost always comes off rather dry and weak unfortunately.
Some of the acting here can be a bit off and sometimes just downright weak as well, most notably from Liam Neeson who portrays High T, the head of the United Kingdom branch of the Men in Black organization. Most of the time he is on screen, his acting comes off as a bit wooden sadly.
Furthermore, the story was never one that was really all that intriguing, mostly because all of the eventual plot twists are ones many will be able to see coming from a mile away. During the final thirty minutes or so of the film, it is incredibly easily to predict what will ultimately occur. Its plot also does move along rather slowly. The running time clocks in at one hundred and fifteen minutes and even still, it felt like it overstayed its welcome by the time the third act kicked in.
Great chemistry from Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson isn’t enough to save Men in Black: International from being a bland, forgettable and predictable entry in the franchise.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ / Movie: ★ ★
Caillou Pettis is an enthusiastic film lover and has been one since his youth. You can follow him on Twitter at @CaillouPettis and can contact him by email at caillou@cailloupettis.net.
