Men In Black 3 (2012)
Certified: PG
Duration: 106 minutes
Directed by: Barry Sonnenfeld
Starring: Will Smith; Lee Jones; Josh Brolin; Jermaine Clement; Emma Thompson; Alice Eve; Michael Stuhlbarg; Nicole Scherzinger; David Rasche; Will Arnett
KRS release
Fifteen years after the bright and sparkly original and 10 years after the dull sequel, now comes Men In Black 3, which easily somersaults over its predecessor and brings back good memories of the first.
The film is not out to prove that time travel is possible and that aliens exist- Johan Galea
This time around the film comes complete with a full script and not just a collection of vignettes.
With this slice of sci-fi entertainment, Barry Sonnenfeld has provided us with not just a trip back in time to the 1960s, but also to a time when Agent J and Agent K were the cool dudes on the block.
Agents J and K (Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones) have been partnered together for 10 years, working for a super-secret agency as they keep the peace between the aliens that live in secret on earth and humans.
Yet Agent J has little idea of who Agent K is beyond the workplace.
He is stonewalled both by K and also their boss Agent O (Emma Thompson) when he asks about why K has become such a hard and uncompromising man.
He gets the chance to discover this when an alien assassin called Boris ‘The Animal’ (Jermaine Clement) escapes from prison. Boris had been sent to prison by K who had cost Boris his arm. So he wants to go back in time and change the past, having his revenge on K in the process. He actually succeeds and history is changed with only J remembering what had happened.
With the course of history changed, this also means that Earth no longer has a protective force field around it. This also means the Earth is now ripe for a Boglodite invasion. J has to travel back in time to save K.
He must pay attention to K’s younger version (Josh Brolin) with whom he ends up partnered once again. Along with him is Griffin (Michael Stuhlbarg), an alien who sees all possible futures that can happen.
The emphasis in the film is more on the humour rather than the action – and also on the confusion that time travel brings up.
The script exerts extra effort to make sure that the plot not only gels well together, but is also entertaining in a breezy fashion.
Seeing Will Smith as Agent J landing in the past is hilarious; meeting an excellent Josh Brolin as a young Tommy Lee Jones is even more perfect, both in the casting decision and in that little extra nuance that the movie is provided with. He is one of the reasons to see this film as his strong, grim and totally-deadpan delivery is perfect. Strong presence is also displayed from Jermaine Clement as the villainous Boris. His role marks him down as this franchise’s strongest villain yet.
The film has a bright sheen to it that gives it a very polished look, which is very much the merit of the cinematography of Bill Pope.
It also makes sure that the time jumps from 2012 and 1969 are marked with distinguishable colour palettes.
The rich and vivid imagination of the creatures’ designs that are on show – the work of Rick Baker, one of the best in the field – is another extra.
The film is not out to prove that time travel is possible and that aliens exist. That is better left to other movies.
Also, for once, we have a movie about time travel that is not aiming to install a migraine into your head. This is about fun, entertainment, laughs and a sense of wonderment.