Men in Black 3 Review Thread. *Spoilers*

[Aldo]

Seeing as this is the second sequel that is released ten years after the previous film (that of dubious quality itself), it's no surprise that people aren't jumping all over each other to review this film :P

That said, it was a lot better than I expected it to be. Unlike the second film where they were content in just remaking the first film nearly beat for beat, this movie tells an interesting story with these characters. It's so refreshing seeing a fresh story (well for this series that is) it saddens me that everyone phoned it in with the second film.

The storyline is simple, we've all seen it in the previews. K is erased from the timeline and J travels back in time to try and set things right. Pretty simple, the movie doesn't really offer up any surprises beyond that (ok their are a few, but they work better if you don't know about them). Will Smith does a good job, but really, he's basically playing himself so it's not a stretch. Josh Brolin does a good Tommy Lee Jones impression and it's fun watching a young K interacting wtih J.

The real disappointment is how little Tommy Lee Jones gets to do. I know going in he would have a smaller role, but after watching the movie it was really evident Jones absence was lacking.

Also, that scene from the trailer where the Agents confront the alien who is hiding in paint was not in the movie, which kind of sucked cause it seemed like a neat scene.

I'd probably give it a B, I'd see it again, but it didn't quite capture the magic of the feel of the first two films.

 

[Admiral2]

No poll? Oh, well...

I was reluctant to see this because I didn't want to have to watch yet another two hours of Will Smith being shocked off his ass at absolutely everything that happens around him. At some point "J" needs to get more jaded about it. He's almost there, which I found pleasantly surprising. The movie itself was great fun. Hilarious! Josh Brolin is great as young Agent "K", though Emma Thompson and Alice Eve were both wasted as young and old Agent "O" (though O's eulogy for Zed was laugh out loud funny...I think Emma ad libbed it).

A-

 

[Warped9]

I've been anticipating this for awhile now. The reviews I've read have been generally positive even if not greatly enthusiastic. The general sense seems to be is that it's not only better than MIB2, but also better than expected even if it's not as good as the first MIB. Candidly I think all sequels face the same problem because the concept isn't fresh anymore. Few sequels are really as good let alone better than the original.

With that in mind, though, I'm still interested in seeing this and I'll probably see it tomorrow (Saturday).

 

[Aldo]

No poll? Oh, well...

Is the poll not showing up? Cause it is for me.

 

[Warped9]

No poll? Oh, well...

Is the poll not showing up? Cause it is for me.

I also see the poll. I'll vote tomorrow.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

The real disappointment is how little Tommy Lee Jones gets to do. I know going in he would have a smaller role, but after watching the movie it was really evident Jones absence was lacking.

AFAIK, this was his idea. He only agreed to even do the movie at all if his screen time was reduced. Probably because he was so dissatisfied with MIB II.

As for this film, I will definitely be seeing it. I like the MIB films very much, and this one scene in MIB III definitely appeals to me:

Spoiler: MIB III

the characters travel back and watch the 1969 World Series 'live'.

 

[Aldo]

That sounds familiar. It's a shame though, it's a real loss to the film that he isn't driving the story along with Smith this time around.

Like I said, Brolin did a fine job playing a younger K, but it was no substitute for not having Jones throughout the movie.

 

[davejames]

I'll probably check it out. Even if the concept doesn't seem nearly as cool or novel as it did back in the 90s, it would still be kinda fun to see these characters again.

 

[Warped9]

I'll probably check it out. Even if the concept doesn't seem nearly as cool or novel as it did back in the 90s, it would still be kinda fun to see these characters again.

True.

How many sequels really do justice to the original or even go one better? Very few.

 

[davejames]

AFAIK, this was his idea. He only agreed to even do the movie at all if his screen time was reduced. Probably because he was so dissatisfied with MIB II.

I'm sure it's more just because of his age. Those movies require a lot of running around and stunt work and special effects, and he probably just doesn't have the energy for it anymore.

Unless it's something like Captain America, where he just has to give a few orders or drive a car or something.

 

[DigificWriter]

I went and saw it earlier today. My verdict is that it's better than the second and at least as good as the first, although it's not packed with nearly as much overt humor. What humor the film does have is more of the slapstick variety or else comes through the interaction between J and the younger K. Speaking of, Josh Brolin is spot-on in his channeling of Tommy Lee Jones. Emma Thompson is also great as the new director of the MIB, while Alice Eve does a decent job as the younger version of the character (even though there's not a whole lot of physical resemblance, IMO, between Thompson and Eve).

All in all, it was a lot of fun seeing J and K back in action, and I'd definitely go see the film again.

 

[The Wormhole]

I enjoyed it. An etertaining movie. Not really all that funny, but fortunately it had an interesting enough storyline to make up for that. Mind you some of the attempted jokes were groaners. "Mommy, why is the President drinking my milk?" "The Viagrans want to discuss a revolutionary new pill." But the movie did have some solid laughs, like the above mentioned euology from O. Also, J seeing other guys falling with him when his time jump brought him through the Depression.

The revelation that the Army Colonel was J's father was way too predictable as soon as the Colonel is first seen. I wanted to yell at them to just reveal it already, it was that painfully obvious.

So just how long was K aware of who J was? I doubt he pieced it together that the kid would grow up to be the agent who just helped him, but he must have realized by the time he recruited J that he was the colonel's son and the guy who would travel back to the 60s.

This is something that's been on my mind ever since the first MIB movie came out. MIB agents go by the first letter of their first names, right? J's first name was James and I think K's was Kevin and so on. But what about if two agents had first names starting with the same letter? When J is going around MIB HQ yelling "K!" shouldn't a dozen other agents be like "me?" This issue seems to be sidestepped with J's partner in the alternate timeline, known as Double A (presumably has name was something like Aaron, which starts with two As). But since J is only J are we really to believe that before him there wasn't anyone named James or even John, Jake, Jerry, or perhaps Jill or Jennifer recruited by the MIB?

Still, a very good movie. 2012 is shaping up to be pretty good so far, movie wise.

 

[Admiral James Kirk]

I haven't seen it yet. Want to. I read the review over at AICN and they were predominantly positive. Anyone read The Kidd's review? He sticks his foot in his mouth and takes a racist crack at Will Smith (not once but twice) and all those psychotic talkbackers are kicking him (repeatedly) in the nuts. Fuckin' hi-larious! That guy is the worst reviewer they have. Except for Capone. And Harry.

 

[Kelso]

I mostly want to see it for the retro aliens.

 

[Admiral2]

No poll? Oh, well...

Is the poll not showing up? Cause it is for me.

It is. I missed it. Small one for one of these threads...

 

[Aldo]

No poll? Oh, well...

Is the poll not showing up? Cause it is for me.

It is. I missed it. Small one for one of these threads...

I'm lazy.

 

[Warped9]

I loved the first Men In Black. It was clever and funny and a lot of fun. MIB2 was just too silly and didn't bring anything fresh to the table. The first season of the animated series was a good followup to the first film, far better than MIB2, but the rest of the series...uh, not so much.

Just got back from seeing Men In Black 3. Part of me wants to give it an A because it's soo much better than MIB2. Still, it isn't one of the very best things I've ever seen.

It has something distinctly not present in MIB2---it has heart. There are moments in the film that establish a genuine connection between J and K that goes beyond being "just partners."

I also enjoyed how they deal with the time travel aspects. There's humour, of course, but they also freely acknowledge the paradox aspects without beating you over the head with it.

Some fans might be disappointed because they don't get to see Frank the Pug, the Twins and we see very little of the worms (which had been done to death on the animated series). On the flip side Josh Brolin nails it as the younger K. I think it was a smart idea to use this approach because Tommy Lee Jones as the older K just looks tired and somewhat bored.

In my view you can just ignore MIB2 altogether and have MIB and MIB3 as fine bookends.

I rated it a B, but I think it's really a B+. I'm definitely adding it to my library when it's released on disc.

 

[Harvey]

In my view you can just ignore MIB2 altogether and have MIB and MIB3 as fine bookends.

As long as you ignore the end of the first movie...

 

[Warped9]

In my view you can just ignore MIB2 altogether and have MIB and MIB3 as fine bookends.

As long as you ignore the end of the first movie...

Fair point. I suppose you can just filter what happened in MIB2 as something that happened offscreen.

 

[Harvey]

That's probably best, although bringing back Kay in any capacity really undermines the ending of the first film, no matter how it's done. I'll probably see the third film, although it may have to wait until home video.