My memories of the “Men in Black” movies are vague. Sony released the original in 1997 and the sequel a decade ago, and I haven’t watched either one since its theatrical run, so my lack of recall has nothing to do with age and everything to do with apathy. All I remember is thinking the first one was “OK” and the second one stunk. So news that Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones were reprising the roles of Agents J and K for a third movie did not excite me.
That changed about five minutes into “Men in Black III.” To boil it down to a single word, the movie is fun.
“MIB3” begins on the moon, where the MIB have held galactic criminal Boris the Animal in a maximum-security prison for over 40 years. Boris has spent his internment seething over the loss of his arm in a skirmish with K in 1969. That might seem like a long time to hold a grudge, but when you see what Boris does with his other hand once he’s free to use it, you’ll understand his obsession. Boris catches wind of a device that can send an individual back in time, so he hatches a plan to escape and go back to 1969 to kill K prior to their encounter.
While Boris is on Earth to obtain the time travel device, he runs into J and K, but escapes the ensuing fight. K then returns to his apartment and disappears, and the next day, no one but J remembers K even existed. Eventually, J’s new boss, O, deduces that a fracture has occurred in the space-time continuum and sends J back in time to stop Boris from killing K.
Boris’ time jump also kept K from activating ArcNet, a shield that protects Earth from alien invasion, in 1969, thereby allowing Boris’ race, the Boglodites, to attack in the present.
That’s just enough plot to make things interesting. And it creates opportunities for a lot of creative people to shine.
Among the many pleasures in “MIB3” is the performance of Josh Brolin as the young K. Brolin not only does a hilarious deadpan impersonation of Jones as K, but also brings new dimensions to the character. Many of the movie’s best laughs come from his impression of the character.
Also enjoyable are the creatures make-up artist Rick Baker created for “MIB3.” Simply put, Baker is a master. He’s been working in movies since the early ‘70s, and has had a hand in creating some of the most iconic movie monsters of the last 40 years, including those in “The Howling,” “An American Werewolf in London,” “Hellboy” and more. Here, he’s at the top of his game creating an assortment of truly alien beings, including Boris, who has a few surprises under his skin. It warms the heart of this old school creature feature fan to see practical make-up effects being applied to this extent during a time when digital artists have all but taken over. This is real movie-making magic!
Director Barry Sonnenfeld, who helmed the first two “MIBs,” is back for the threequel, and seems to have only improved his skills. “MIB3” moves along at a nice clip, the story is lucid, the photography looks great and the performances are spot on. Sonnenfeld likes to shoot using wide lenses, which draws viewers into a scene and let them choose where to look. It’s a good approach for the visually appealing “MIB” movies.
I’m running out of space, and I haven’t even mentioned how “MIB3” has a lot of laughs (I love J’s touchy feely partner that appears after the time-space rip – he’s the exact opposite of the starchy K), an unexpectedly touching ending that further develops the relationship of J and K, an energetic performance by Will Smith and some of the best post-production 3D I have seen.
But all you really need to know is what I wrote in the second paragraph: “MIB3” is FUN. See it, even if you didn’t like the first two.
Rated PG-13 for sci-fi action violence and brief suggestive content. Three stars out of four. Email David Laprad at dlaprad@hamiltoncountyherald.com.