Men In Black: International fails to even come close to the quality of the previous three films (and spoiler alert .. I didn’t like the 2nd MIB film). The biggest problem with F. Gary Gray’s latest project is that it fails to engage the audience in any way. The first three films (whether they were good or not) at least captivated audiences and kept us interested till the end. This film just was what it was. It certainly wasn’t exciting nor written well (I’m pretty sure my 2nd-grade son could have deduced who the villain was). If anything, Men In Black: International is a lesson on how you can’t just slap a successful franchise label on a film and hope for the best.
What bothers me most about the release is I think the casting of the film is spot on. Chris Hemsworth has more than shown his comedic talents, and Tessa Thompson is one of the most versatile actresses in Hollywood. What’s the premise of the latest MIB adventure? Agent H (Chris Hemsworth) and Rookie Agent M (Tessa Thompson) are partnered together and track down an alien threat who can take the form of anyone.
If I were to point some highlights in the film, they would begin the cool tech these agents now have, and end with Kumail Nanjani who was the most entertaining portion of this snooze fest. Nanjani plays an alien named pawn, who is committed to serving his queen. Once his queen experiences an untimely demise, pawn pledges to his new queen Agent M. What I found baffling was how were these moments with Nanjani’s character cleverly constructed and the rest of the movie so listless. Writer Matt Holloway and Art Marcum needed to craft this film in such a way which further explores the dichotomy of Agent M and H’s work relationship. Their narrative hit some moments the previous releases had, but none of them popped, they just occurred. If you are going to cast two actors with such Chemistry, then explore it!
Overall, which while Men In Black: International has its moments, the film was neither funny nor entertaining, it just was an exercise in futility. The dynamic that made those original films work was the chemistry between Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, and the narrative accentuated it. In F. Gary Gray’s project, you’ve got two actors with a different spark that could have been explored — not doing this drastically impacted the final product and the audience’s level of enjoyment.
Dewey Singleton has been reviewing new releases in television and film for many years. Dewey's reviews have been heard in multiple markets (Houston Atlanta, Tampa). Dewey's past work has been with awardswatch.com, awardsradar.com, and bleeding cool. Dewey is a proud member of the CCA.