Film Review: "Men in Black 3" (2012)

From the first trailer, we get this: "I know what you're thinking: MIB, 3-D, we're going to be blowing stuff up and all that. But that's not really what we're doing right now. We're here for one purpose, and for one purpose only: Just to let you know that I'm about to make 3-D look good." Well… he certainly does with Men in Black 3. This science fiction comedy film directed by Barry Sonnenfeld. This film is the sequel to the 2002 film Men in Black II released on May 25, 2012, almost ten years after its predecessor and fifteen years after the release of the original Men in Black (1997). The film is the third installment in the Men in Black film series which is based on the Malibu / Marvel comic book series The Men in Black by Lowell Cunningham. An alien criminal, Boris The Animal, kills the young Agent K in 1969, altering the timeline, changing the Agency and placing the Earth in danger. Veteran Agent J must travel back in time to 1969 to before the murder and work with the young Agent K to save him, the Agency, the Earth and humanity itself.

The film stars Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin, Jemaine Clement, Michael Stuhlbarg, Emma Thompson and Alice Eve. The cast gave hilarious and fantastic performances. I was glad to see the returning veterans Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones as the agency's hilarious odd couple Agents J and K. As always Will Smith is energetic, enthusiastic and humorous, and Tommy Lee Jones was always very serious demeanor, rarely joking or smiling and giving very matter-of-fact responses as usual in funny and good way. Cudos to the new comers to the film such as Emma Thompson as Agent O, Alice Eve as Young Agent O, and Michael Stuhlbarg as Griffin. But I was especially impressed with Josh Brolin as the Young Agent K, giving the most dead-on imitation of Tommy Lee Jones. Brolin's performance was uncanny, he had portrayed a young Tommy Lee Jones so perfectly that sometimes I could not tell the difference. Lastly, Jemaine Clement as the film's 'bad-ass' villain Boris The Animal. I was proud to see Flight of the Concords' Jemaine Clement, he was so brilliant in the role of the villain.

Men in Black 3 restores heart interest of the first film and has a satisfying complete storyline. Smith keeps the plot on the move and Brolin’s imitation of Jones is funny. It continues to move the spirit of the series forward in new and exciting directions, and it reaches a satisfying conclusion to the overarching story. Director Paul Thomas Anderson praised the film by saying, "It was [expletive] great. ... The time-travel stuff [made me] cry my eyes out. I'm a sucker for that stuff." Well... so am I! The film is a great conclusion (I hope) to the series and its ending is the neatest of all.

Simon says Men in Black 3 receives: