MEN IN BLACK III (2012)

A longtime fan of Will Smith and the MEN IN BLACK movies, I was so thrilled to hear about this third installment to the saga! In this MIB adventure, Agent J (Smith) must travel back in time to stop Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones/Josh Brolin) from getting killed by an angry escapee alien named Boris the Animal (Jemaine Clement). J is also on his own personal mission to try to figure K out, to get into his head and find out why they never talk about personal things together. Throughout the film, J subtly tries to get in K's head to find out what makes him tick.

Jemaine Clement as Boris the Animal

As with most stories that involve time-travel, it takes some thinking to keep track of what version of whom is where when, but for the most part it's easy to follow. The script as a whole is engaging and amusing. I wasn't expecting the slight twist at the end, but it came about so naturally and organically that it didn't jar the progress of the film. The dialogue lives up to the legacy of the other MIB films and is appropriately witty.

Josh Brolin as Agent K

Josh Brolin does an amazing job playing the younger Agent K. According to Entertainment Weekly, he spent a great deal of time studying, observing, and practicing how Tommy Lee Jones walks and talks. He must have done something right because it only takes about two second for the audience to forget that we're actually watching a different actor playing a character we know so well. The chemistry between Agents K and J is just as electric between Smith and Brolin as it ever was between Smith and Jones.

Emma Thompson and Will Smith
as Agents O and J

The writers did a brilliant job shaping the various side characters in this film. The antagonist alien is decidedly frightening, thanks in part to special effects (the voice is so menacing!), but primarily because Jemaine Clement (FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS) is simply brilliant! Another character, Griffin (Michael Stuhlbarg), brought some sunshine to the movie as an optimistic future-gazing alien. Emma Thompson shines as Agent O, who's now in charge of the whole MIB operation. My only complaint about that character is that we should have seen more of her! You can never have too much of Emma Thompson, who is truly everything beautiful and good!

MEN IN BLACK III is going to be worth adding to your collection once it comes out on DVD/Blu-Ray. It's totally worth the cost of the theatre ticket, but it definitely has its place as a Friday-night pizza party movie. It's well-cast, well-written, and well, amazing! Have fun with this one, folks!