I don’t quite understand the trend of decade long trilogies. I suppose it is because the first is a proven moneymaker, and filmmakers want to stretch the idea and chemistry between the actors out to make the most out of the situation. Sometimes it works in the franchise’s favor, such as the Toy Story franchise, where they found a way to evolve the series. Most times, as is the case with Men in Black 3, the chemistry and ideas are stretched too thin. The third movie in the trilogy about the secret agency that monitors alien activities on Earth has become alien to its own origins.
This time around, Agents J (Will Smith) and K (Tommy Lee Jones) are tracking an alien K locked up years ago (played by Jermaine Clement). Unfortunately, the alien has discovered time travel, and sets his sights on younger Agent K (played by Josh Brolin). It is up to Agent J to go back in time and stop the older alien so the future can go back to what it once was.
MiB 3 has been in development for several years, so it is inspired to use time travel to invigorate the story with something new. However, the explanations are very limited and leave more questions than answers. For instance, why would only Agent J realize something changed, and everyone else is unaffected? With all that time in development, one would hope they put more time into the backstory to give it some sort of plausibility, like Back to the Future, or make it completely audacious, like Hot Tub Time Machine. One notable exception is the climax, which gives us a beautiful moment of pathos for multiple characters, and adds a nice little piece of emotional heft to the relationships of the characters.
The special effects are fine, but nothing special. The costume design also leaves something to be lacking. I was hoping for a more menacing looking villain, but instead the costume was very generic, like a cross between Doc Brown and a raisin. The locations used were the one bright spot. I really enjoyed the views of New York, especially an empty Shea Stadium.
The acting is ironcially mixed. The chemistry between previous players Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith has evaporated. I didn’t laugh once, and Smith’s insults felt more biting instead of chiding. Most unfortunately, Rip Torn (who played Zed) was mentioned but not present as well as Frank, the talking dog. Those 2 characters had a lot of fun in their roles, and it was a shame we couldn’t see them one more time. The newcomers had much more success with the exception of Emma Thompson (who was misused and miscast). Josh Brolin was wonderful, and the chemistry between Smith and Brolin simmered. He struck just the right note of stoicism and fun that Tommy Lee Jones hit in the first movie. Also good was Michael Stuhlbarg, playing a man who can see multiple futures at once. The rest of the newcomers are ok, but not memorable.
MiB 3 isn’t a terrible movie, but it falls directly between what it once was, and what it should have evolved into. With a little more fine tuning, it could have been something special, but as of now, it is destined for repeat on a cable channel. It did however teach us that Josh Brolin and Tommy Lee Jones have to play a father and son in a movie together, or perhaps they are somehow cousins of one another.