Men in Black is one of the most well-known franchises in film history, with three installments, Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones and even Universal Studios theme rides. When it was announced there was another Men in Black movie premiering, fans were worried it might not live up to the potential of the original films. Though the film is well-put-together bait for a new MIB universe, the fans were correct in their worries, as the film does not live up to the original trilogy.
The thing that made the original Men in Black trilogy amazing was the chemistry between the actors and the epic partnership between Agent J (Smith) and Agent K (Jones). Their partnership is iconic, and it seemed to be an already doomed attempt to create a better one. With Men in Black: International, Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson, who both are individually spectacular in the film, lack the electric chemistry Smith and Jones previously possessed. The audience has seen Hemsworth and Thompson together before, as their witty banter lit up screens in Thor: Ragnarok. However great their performances are in Men in Black: International, it’s impossible to live up to the standard set by Jones and Smith.
The cast all do a spectacular job, even with the chemistry not quite meeting the level it should. Another favorite is Kumail Nanjiani in his voice work for Pawny. Nanjiani delivers his dialogue in such a comical way, which provides even more comic relief for the action film. Liam Neeson, Emma Thompson and Rebecca Furguson also do tremendously well, and it’s wonderful that the movie includes Les Twins and gives them a gratuitous dance number.
The music is also a brilliant point to the film, thanks to expert composer Danny Elfman. After writing the score for the other MIB films, Elfman, in an interview with Billboard, said he was excited to dive back into the music after seven years since the last MIB film.
Almost every time a man and woman team up for a highly important project or have some sort of huge end goal in film, the two become romantic partners. Though there is plenty of flirting between Hemsworth and Thompson’s characters, the two don’t end up becoming romantic partners at the end of the film, which is refreshing and a fitting twist for the 21st century.
There are some great aspects of the film, but it lacks greatly in regards to pacing. One of the testaments to a truly great film is proper pacing, but MIB: International begins extremely slow, picking up a little every once in a while, but then everything happens at once in the matter of two scenes.
The film also doesn’t do a great job of creating a fresh, unpredictable storyline and being decisive about who certain people are supposed to be. From the first few scenes, it is easy to pick out who the villain is going to end up being; however, there are certain scenes where the writers try to make the villain seem like a good guy, which contradicts the message. Even in the final battle against the villain, there is supposed to be redeemable qualities about them, which makes it confusing. There are a few characters whose purposes come into question, which just adds conflict for no reason.
The best part about the newest MIB installment, seven years later, is that it’s great universe bait. The film is getting people interested in MIB again, which is great for the franchise. It includes a woman, finally, as the main character of a MIB film and is becoming more relevant to younger audiences who were too young for the prime trilogy.
Overall, MIB: International is a great way to reintroduce the franchise to a new generation. It’s a cute and funny film in traditional MIB fashion. However, it’s not as great as the original trilogy and is almost forgettable. The cast is well fit for the job, but the film just can’t live up to its predecessors that paved the way.
