Review: Men in Black International

Seven years since the last Men in Black film hit theaters, a new story with new characters led by Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson hits the big screen. And now, we’re international, as if that made a difference when an agency was in charge of protecting the whole world and had access to flying rocket cars. But why ask questions, aliens are around every corner and the world behind the curtain of everyday reality is ready to sparkle for those deemed brave or foolish enough.

This new chapter in the MIB universe begins with Agent H (Chris Hemsworth) and Agent T (Liam Neeson) as they work together in Paris to fight off a horde or invading aliens. On the other side of the world is Molly, a genius woman on the hunt for the truth after having a brush with MIB and an alien when she was a child. Her tenacity and ingenuity finally pay off when she tracks down the Men in Black and pleads with Agent O (Emma Thompson) for a chance to enlist.

Given a probationary pass, she travels to London on her first mission. Quickly teaming up with Agent H, she find herself in gunfights and dire circumstances with aliens and space-tech around every corner. They come across an alien friend with information for someone that can be trusted. Unfortunately, they are attacked by two alien beings with super natural powers (Played by the dance duo Les Twins). On the run and under fire, they speed through towards the truth before the world can be invaded.

While fun at times, this film can also be very tedious. Simple and straight-forward jokes hit you in the face on more than one occasion which good and bad CGI any opportunities for deeper plot points. I will say that I did enjoy the punch-up character Pawny (Voiced by Kumail Nanjiani). A miniature alien with attitude and tons of zings for anyone that gets on his list. As for Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson, they have great chemistry (Anyone that watched Thor: Ragnorak knows this). But did that need to be part of this story? I would have liked something deeper and more profound our of this pair, Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones had some rough patches, but when they worked, they were worth every minute on screen. I don’t know if this film will make lots of money, but I very much doubt we’ll see a part two in its future.

I will say that if you’re looking for a very easy-to-follow sci-fi story that has very little surprises or just a bunch of CGI special effect pop-ups, maybe this will be worth a theater visit for you.

Grade: C-
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Running Time: 1hr 54m