The ’90s were a very good time for Will Smith. He led two of the biggest summer blockbusters of the decade with Independence Day and Men in Black. Each of these should have been easy franchise starters. Men in Black sequels stumbled to theaters both four and 14 years later. These sequels both made money because they kept their main star front and center. Independence Day mysteriously never got its sequel until 20 years after the first smash success. It went forward without Smith and was easily one of the worst movies of 2016.
Now Will Smith’s MIB franchise is headed back to theaters…without Will Smith. This should go well…
This relaunch of MIB focuses on Tessa Thompson’s character. From a young age, she saw proof of extraterrestrial life and has sought to be part of this shadow organization ever since. She quickly earns the role of Agent M and is shipped off to London, where she must partner up with apathetic Agent H (Chris Hemsworth) and find a possible mole in the organization.
The first MIB came around and surprised the audience with its vast assortment of odd aliens and slapstick situations. The sequels borrowed heavily from this concept and watered down the original feel. Now, the relaunch is just going through the motions. A few quirky celebs are shown on a screen and exposed as aliens, there is a small comic relief character, and an intergalactic device that could mean the end of the world. There’s so little effort to be original. It’s almost exactly like the studio made this third sequel in an attempt to cash in on a familiar property.
Chris Hemsworth has somehow ascended beyond the stiff machismo of the first two Thor flicks and is settling well into comedic roles in Ragnarok, Avengers and Ghostbusters. He and Ragnarok co-star Thompson should have chemistry ready-made for this movie. However, Hemsworth’s performance consists of being bored and distracted. He might be the best actor around, because it felt like he wishes he were in any other movie.
Tessa Thompson is apparently meant to be the next big thing. Though, without good writing behind a performance, her natural charisma doesn’t quite sell it. There is nothing to Agent M. Every other character in the movie is given one mood to display throughout. Whereas, Agent M is nothing more than a blank slate. There’s nothing relatable about her and no personality behind her actions.
Kumail Nanjiani as the tiny alien, Pawny, feels like nothing more than a comic relief afterthought. The attempts at humor feel injected (almost in post production) to help move the pacing along. Sadly, none of it is funny. There’s just no fun to be had here at all.
The alien designs are the ONE highlight. They match the feel of the previous movies and feel as if they are actually in the room with the humans. The trend-setting, break-dancing, shape-shifting (so many hyphens) twin villains show an ounce of the creativity that was put into this movie. When they shift to their original universal form, it’s a standout. Though, even these Terminator-like villains have nothing to do when there’s no script.
Men in Black: International is a tired retread that should fail to launch a new franchise. It’s a lifeless husk that wants to sell the chemistry of its leads, but they have nothing to do except for play out sketches with no punchline. The alien designs are quality, but do very little to save this sequel from feeling like the longest movie of the year. D+
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