Men in Black 3

A decade away from the movie scene has given the Men In Black series a chance at a fresher, newer perspective. Taking its cue from Shrek Forever After, MIB 3 takes on a tired concept (time travel in this case) if only to acknowledge the failure of its dull sequel and take us back to a different era allowing us to view the franchise from an unsullied angle. The result is a film that returns to its roots and gives audiences the chance to relive much of what they first enjoyed – a smart, sci-fi, buddy comedy that embraces everything weird and wonderful about the unknown universe.

In his first cinematic role in nearly 4 years, Will Smith's Agent J is the usual charming, witty wiseass we expect him to be. Still teamed up with the laconic Agent K (wrinkly Tommy Lee Jones) he is no closer to cracking his older partners deadpan demeanour but their relationship issues take a back seat when a nemesis from Kay's past, Boris the animal, turns up to exact revenge for having been imprisoned on the moon 40 years ago. His elaborate plan takes him back in the past, to the day he was caught, and sets ripples in the present, where K no longer exists and a different reality results. J has to then literally time jump (off the Empire State building no less) and fix the past for normalcy to return in the present.

Directly Barry Sonnenfeld seems to find his groove once again with the zany and icky shenanigans that put him on the map with the original. Using plenty of the wide angle camera work that gave him fame as the Coen's favourite lenser, the resulting imagery should work wonders for those who decide to pay extra and catch the film on 3D (converted). Boris the animal is also a return to series villains being screwball and menacing in equal measure (remember Vincent D'Onofrio?) and Rick Baker's excellent makeup effects are both incredible and revolting. The big surprise is how well Josh Brolin impersonates Jones in the role of a younger K – which should not be a surprise considering Brolin's recent, impressive body of work as a bonafide actor, most notably in W. So chameleon-like is his performance that you forget it's him and actually completely believe it's just a younger version of Tommy Lee Jones that you're seeing.

The films primary achievement and a true signal of its return to form though are the scenes set in the past. Not only is Josh Brolin a deadringer for Tommy Lee's K during his youth, but the hip musical vibes of the late 60's/early 70's allow for plenty of playfulness to ensue with a particularly hilarious segment devoted to Andy Warhol. If that isn't enough, everything very neatly ties into another epochal scientific moment from that time period and ends on a moment of curiously satisfying emotionality that provides not only closure to the film but the series as a whole. If that doesn't make you forgive all the wrongs that the sequel did and embrace this film as one of the years better movie franchise offerings the only thing that might work on you is a neuralizer.

The criminal Boris the Animal (Jemaine Clement) escapes from the LunaMax, a moon-based maximum security prison. He comes to Earth seeking revenge from Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) that has blown his arm up and arrested him forty years ago and protected Earth from a Boglodyte invasion. Boris is defeated again and he travels back in time to 1969 to kill Agent K.

When Agent J (Will Smith) notes that the time line has changed in the present days and Agent O (Emma Thompson) tells him that K died in 1969, he decides to travel to 15 July 1969 to save K on the next day. Agent J has difficulties to convince the Young Agent K (Josh Brolin) with lies, but when he decides to tell the truth, K believes in his words and they seek out Boris together.

They are helped by the amicable alien Griiffin (Michael Stuhlbarg) that has precognitive powers and gives the ArcNet to K to protect Earth from the Boglodyte invasion. Further, J learns a secret about K and himself.

"Men in Black 3" is a great adventure of this franchise, with a wonderful story and magnificent special effects. I had low expectations with movie, but I was favorably surprised with an adorable film. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "MIB³ - Homens de Preto 3" ("MIB³ - Men in Black 3")

Well, whaddaya know, the "MiB" have gone MiA for 10 years already! No wonder many of us have forgotten about them as Men In Cape and Bodysuits (aka The Avengers, Batman, Spider-Man, et al) have been hogging the cinemas while the "Men In Black" go missing-in-action. No matter, they are still a barrel of fun in this three-quel 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 troubled and delayed US$215-million production, it is a nostalgic film in more ways than one.

Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones reprise their roles as agents J and K of the secret Men in Black organization 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 venture through time, look for a young K (now played by Josh Brolin) and stop Boris from destroying the world once and for all.

I have never been a fan of time-travel plots and I still don't like them. 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 gadgets and vehicles like the giant wheel hoover-bikes used by Agents J and K. On the whole, Agents J and K still provide the 'L'. - limchangmoh.blogspot.com

Once again our favorite MIB agents Jay & Kay are battling it out for earth. Quick action, colorful villains, beautifully designed settings and CGI, comic relief in the face of imminent destruction, all those made the first two movies great as well as successful in the box office. Could they better the formula in the face of all the other bad sequels we have been seeing for years?

This is one of the reasons I had stepped into the cinema with trepidation. (Good grief, was it 1997 when I saw the first and ten years ago the second? How time flies). The other reason was the pitfall of time travel.

Time travel is one of the favorite themes in sci fi movies but it needs to be handled carefully. My humble word of advice to the script writers: Keep-It-Simple. Avoid overtly complicated jumps back and forth and paradoxes that confuse the audience. Remember the eventual mess in the Back To The Future trilogy? I was then so pleased to see that they kept the time travel relatively simple and easy to follow. There was a small part when they crossed the line juuust a tiny bit when young agent Kay meets a certain father and son (don't want to spoil it). Even if traveling back in time was possible, you wouldn't necessarily bump into everyone you know in the present.

Will Smith is in his usual good form in his character Jay which however needs Kay to balance him. It is then fortunate that Brolin gives a great performance as the young agent.

Was it better than the 1997original? It was as good, without the novelty value obviously. Was it as good as the MIB2? I would say that it surpassed the second.

Before the time travel stuff, it's a bit tired...but man, once we go back in time, it's actually astonishing how great it is. Brolin rules, the model party scene is perfect, and I don't think it can be overstated how wonderful Griff is. Most importantly, it solidifies J and K's relationship in ways that most Hollywood comedy sequels wouldn't even bother, becoming a surprisingly emotional story of friendship and commitment.