Men in Black: International
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson, Liam Neeson, Emma Thomson
Directed by: F. Gary Gray
Rated: PG-13
The Men in Black are back. Wait... no, they’re not. The Men in Black: International Division is here, which means the franchise has been rebooted to introduce all-new characters. We’ve seen it happen several times before with other franchises, and we’ll see it again. As a big fan of the original Men in Black trilogy, it’s sad to see anything Men in Black related without Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, but I was open to the possibility. Instead of Agent J and Agent K, Agent H (Chris Hemsworth) and Agent M (Tessa Thompson) are the focus now. H is a reckless playboy agent who has recently strayed off track from his streak of impressive world-saving missions. M is a brand new agent who found MIB on her own after an alien encounter in her childhood.
The two team up to work together and stop a dangerous alien force called The Hive from destroying the world.
This is the first MIB movie that is not directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, and it shows. Instead, it’s directed by F. Gary Gray. There are many instances that it doesn’t feel like MIB at all, just a generic sci-fi action movie. They don’t even use the MIB theme music. I NEED TO HEAR THAT THEME MUSIC. Gray relies heavily on a sleek and stylish approach for the film. Everything looks shiny and clean, much like the Lexus that the film advertises multiple times. There are a few impressive directorial moments, like a fight sequence that takes place in a fortress splicing H and M’s separate fights into one singular montage, so it looks like all of their choreography is tied together. At times the sleek nature of the film works against it, especially when the CGI effects are so heavily utilized. Some of the original franchise MIB aliens looked believable due to practical effects and makeup, but all of the new ones look like talking computers. There’s no shame in some good makeup! Not everything needs to be CGI!
The screenplay is probably the weakest element of this movie. So many plot points are meandering and thin. The central twin villains serve absolutely no purpose in MIB International. They walk around angrily, dance fight, turn into a galaxy, then disappear. There’s probably a better term to explain this than “they turn into a galaxy,” but I have no idea how to tell you what their purpose was. These two guys chase down Agent H and Agent M, do a dance move, destroy some things, then turn into some kind of space matter that looks like a galaxy. This happens like five times. They never get a background story, explain their motive, or even talk at all.
It would have been great if one of them just looked at the camera to break the fourth wall and said, “So, here’s the deal. I had a rough life! The one thing I could count on was breakdancing. One day, I had to put food on the table because breakdancing competitions make you so hungry. So I took some money from this guy who turned out to be this crazy alien who could time travel. The alien said, ‘Are you Todd Gurley’ (because I kind of look like Todd Gurley) ‘and do you wanna go to space?’ and I thought, ‘As long as I get back in time to go my breakdancing class with my twin.’ So he took my twin and me to space. He realized when we got there that I was not Todd Gurley, and he didn’t have a famous athlete to introduce to his friends, so he just left us in space for like 5 hours. I don’t even know how we lived, but something happened when we were in the atmosphere, and now we turn into galaxies when we dance.” (End Scene)
I’m not saying that’s the story they needed to go with, but it is a backstory that tells us why they’re breakdancing villains who turn into galaxies.
At times, Men In Black: International feels a bit like a road trip film that doesn’t know where it’s going. The original sequel always included a quest that felt earned. This feels like H and M randomly go places on a whim. “Oh yes, I know someone who made a tracking device in Morocco one time...so let’s go there!“ (Also, the tax incentives are great for filming right now, so Morocco it is!)
Eventually, the screenplay makes its way to a twist that wants the audience to be shocked but is evident from the start. Unfortunately, this screenplay leaves a lot to be desired.
Despite the film’s flaws, Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson are very charming as the central agents. They make the film entertaining enough on their mission to stop the Hive. It’s not the same without Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, but they do their best with what they’re given. They’ve made it clear since Thor: Ragnarok that they have great chemistry together. Plus, Chris Hemsworth looks great in this movie, so that’s a major plus.
A scene-stealer here is Kumhail Nanjiani as Pawni, a small alien creature who pledges his loyalty to agent M. He‘s a sarcastic little alien with a few good one-liners.
Men in Black: International is a bland reboot that doesn’t leave its audience with any spectacular blockbuster moments. It ultimately feels very disconnected from the original franchise. It’s nice to see Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson work together again, but when it’s all said and done, you’re better off looking back at Agent J and K’s extraterrestrial adventures.
My Rating: 5/10