Men In Black III (Barry Sonnenfeld, 2012) Review

Well here it is, the third instalment of the MIB film franchise and what's the verdict? Men In Black III, congratulations! You are the best MIB film to date! Like many people, I was sceptical as the narrative seem to take away Tommy Lee Jones and many other great aspects of the MIB series (considering that it's set in 1969, this was to be expected) but it manages to pull through and deliver a great film.

The narrative for this one is that an alien criminal mastermind named Boris (Jermaine Clement) who breaks out of his prison on the moon after being locked up for 40 years. Upon escape, he swears revenge on the agent that put him in the prison, K. Meanwhile on Earth, J and K are going about their usual business while J tries to uncover why K is so stern (one of his best traits, sure, but there has to be a reason, right?). One night, K disappears and J enters the MIB building to find he has a new partner, no-one knows K and his new boss O (Emma Thompson) reveals K has been dead for 40 years. J realises that Boris went back in time in order to kill K before he can be arrested by K. Now J has to travel back in time to 1969 to stop Boris from killing K.

I can't continue this review until I address the highest point of this film, Josh Brolin as a young K. Man oh man did Brolin do a great job. He looks the part and manages to mimic Tommy Lee Jones' voice perfectly. I mentioned in the previous film reviews that the best parts were the interaction between Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith but considering Older K has a much smaller role, this is less common here but that isn't a problem as Brolin and Smith's interaction is still entertaining. Heck, even Will Smith and Bill Hader's interactions are hilarious.

One of the most surprising characters was the antagonist Boris. I had no prior knowledge of this character (I didn't even know what he looked like!) so he was great fun to watch. Much better than a giant cockroach or a bunch of plants. He actual was imposing and actual does make mental and physical impacts on J and K. If the Men In Black franchised finished with this film, it would be great to finish with Boris as the villain. Jermaine Clement is a natural born villain actor (he was great in Rio as the antagonist Nigel). Too bad he sounded like an evil Nigel Thornburry (surprised Tim Curry wasn't picked)

One of the most surprising aspects on Men In Black III was actually how emotional and heartwarming it was. There are lots of moments that capture some real emotion and it makes a real difference to the last film which was clearly in it just for the gags. This alone is one reason I love this film.  I am not swayed by big effects (even though the climax looked great!) but the actual heart that Men In Black III had is definitely a plus.

Men In Black III took a great franchise and fixed all the mistakes of the previous iterations. While lots of characters a pushed to the side (No Frank, two lines from the Worm Guys and no Zed (although that is justified)), new characters such as Andy Warhol (Bill Hader) are introduced but never seen again and there are still a few questions left unanswered, not just from this film but from the first two as well, it still holds up and presents the best of what the franchise has to offer.

Verdict:
8.5/10
What it lacks in Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith interaction it makes up with heartwarming moments and suspense.