Review: ‘Men in Black 3’ returns chemistry, creativity to franchise
Written by James A. Molnar | The Gold Knight | jmolnar@toledofreepress.com
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This is the Spielbergian ideal within which the world of the “Men in Black” universe operates.
It’s whimsical and refreshing. Creative and fun.
While the second movie of this trilogy didn’t quite live up to these adjectives, “Men in Black 3″ returns the series to its roots and focuses, thankfully, on the duo that is Agents J and K (Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones).
The person that really shines in this movie, however, is not Smith or Jones, but Josh Brolin, who is charged with playing a younger Jones.
Poster.
Smith and Jones look visibly older than they did in the last film, which came out a decade ago. It’s almost distracting in the beginning.
In order to save the Earth from pending doom (always the case for the Men in Black), Agent J (Smith) must go back in time — to the summer of ’69. While there, he works with a younger Agent K (Brolin). This is where the movie really finds its groove.
A sworn enemy of K’s ever since he lost his arm, Borris The Animal (Jemaine Clement) goes time jumping to save his arm and get revenge. A Boglodite assassin who has no problem killing people, Borris can shoot spikes from his hand and has claws on his feet. He also has quite the superiority complex.
Along with young K, another character adds life to the movie: a soothsaying alien named Griffin (Michael Stuhlbarg), who helps guide J and K and provides some comic moments in the meantime.
The problem with any movie that comes out this summer is that it faces an uphill battle against the creative juggernaut of “Marvel’s The Avengers.” Comparing MiB3 with that film is futile, for the bar was set so high. By itself, “Men in Black 3″ works and is entertaining; it doesn’t try to be too funny, a lesson director Barry Sonnenfeld learned with the last film.
The visuals are wonderful, though the 3-D is mostly bland. The music by Danny Elfman is again whimsical and perfect. Oscar-winning makeup artist Rick Baker successfully created some cool aliens for the film.
It’s time to save the planet from alien scum. And have some fun watching it.
/ 5
Trailer:
Rated PG-13 for sci-fi action violence, and brief suggestive content.
Toledo Free Press Lead Designer and Film Editor James A. Molnar blogs about all things Oscar at TheGoldKnight.com.
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