Welcome everyone back to another review, and this time we will be finishing off what I started a couple weeks ago. I am of course talking about my reviews for the MIB series, which I did in time for this movie. If you want you could go check out those reviews now before reading this one, as they are up on the blog right now. But if you have read them, then you know I love the first one, I’m not a huge fan of the second one, and that I actually really enjoy the third one, and thought it was a touching finale for those specific characters. Which is why I was really excited about the idea of having a new team of agents, in this case played by Chris Hemsworth, and Tessa Thompson, and a new director, which is F. Gary Gray now instead of Barry Sonnenfield, to see what they can do with this franchise, and idea. And the results are perfectly fine, if not anything particularly amazing as I would have hoped for.
The movie starts off with two prologue’s introducing our two new main characters. The first one introduces Agent H, and his Partner, T, trying to stop an invasion of the dangerous alien race, the Hive, in Paris, while the other taking place years before where we meet Mollie, a young girl who avoids neuralyzation from two MIB agents who are looking for a missing alien that just happens to be in her room. From then on she became determined to find this mysterious organization, trying every method she could use. One day she finally gets her wish, and finds an alien crash sights, and follows the agents to the MIB headquarters in New York. She gets caught, and meets the head of the branch, Agent O, and tries to convince her why she is perfect for the job (I mean she was able to find them after all which no one has surprisingly ever done). She eventually convinces O, and officially becomes Agent M, and is sent to work for the London Division under High T. She is paired up with Agent H, who has changed ever since the incident in Paris, and the two don’t exactly get along too well at first. However they must learn to work together after an assignment gone wrong where they must now protect a mysterious weapon that is sought after by a pair of shape shifting creatures. However they soon come to realize that there could be an even bigger threat on the horizon, a mole in the MIB organization! So with the help the help of the last survivor of a group of aliens attacked by the Twins named Pawny, will the two agents set out to protect the weapon, and figure out who this mole is, but can they be able to do it before its too late?
Perhaps my biggest problem with this reboot is that I feel it plays it too safe. I remember after the film released, hearing that the film was originally going to be much darker, and more politically minded, but that there were creative differences that prevented that from happening. While I can understand the risk in making that, it still probably would have been more interesting than what we got. But I don’t want to just complain about what could’ve been, so how was the film we actually got? Well, its pretty enjoyable actually. Yes it does have the same basic plot of all of the other films of trying to protect this dangerous item from deadly aliens while also figuring out a mystery, and slight spoilers but the villain’s plan on getting the weapon did not make much sense when thinking about it. There are also a lot of very convenient ways that the characters get out of sticky situations, one in particular that I liked in concept, but was not done with much in execution, and the final confrontation felt very anti-climatic, (then again these films weren’t really known for their thrilling climaxes, but this one felt very rushed). Weirdly enough the film works best as a mystery, and that I feel makes it stand out from its predecessors. Now, I’m not saying this is one of the best, and most complex mysteries ever because the big twist is very predictable, and most of you will probably figure it out quickly. But I did really like the details of that twist, and they actually handle it in a clever, and somewhat unexpected way that doesn’t really spoon feed what exactly happened, which I really appreciated. I also liked how the film at least tried to trick us into thinking the suspect could be a select few (I was actually tricked for while), even if like I said it becomes extremely apparent who the mole is at a couple of points. The humor is also funny in this installment as well. While its not as laugh out loud hilarious as some of the other entries, there is still enough good witty dialogue that will elicit some good laughter.
If there’s one thing that we can all agree on for this film, is that its probably the best looking one in the series. Let’s be honest as much as I enjoy these films (well the first, and third at least), I can’t say their their effects are the best there are. Here the VFX team did a very good job creating all of the different aliens with extremely well done CGI, and I do love all of the designs for all of the alien species, since not one of them looks the same. This does do a good job of expanding the MIB world which is something this film does do. In terms of the lore there are some cool things mentioned here, and I did like how the film did look into how the MIB broker peace between alien races (even if its only looked into for a short while). Meanwhile F. Gary Gray does a fine job directing even if I wish he added some more directorial flair to the proceedings. Don’t get me wrong, the movie is still well made, and there are some fun action scenes sprinkled throughout, its just that I wish there was something to make me tell that its his movie if that makes sense like with Barry Sonnenfeld, and the first one. Still the production value is pretty good with the sets, and props all capturing the setting very well, there are some very nice looking shots that make the film feel globe trotting (even if its not as much as you’d think), and of course how can I forget Danny Elfman’s classic score that is just as awesome as ever here.
Of course the real reason people want to see this movie, is to see Chris Hemsworth, and Tessa Thompson together again after seeing how great their chemistry was in Thor Ragnarok. Luckily, that chemistry is just as good as it was in the MCU flick, and both of them doing a great job in the roles, and not just copying the same shtick Will Smith, and Tommy Lee Jones did. They also carry the movie very well, are very charming, and even have a touching relationship as the movie progresses. It helps that I also liked the characters they were playing as they both have some development (H may start off being a bit naive, but he improves as the film moves along), and their backstories are both interesting, and again are not just a re-hash of J, and K’s development. So for those who are interested in this film just to see the duo fight aliens, and have fun banter, you’ll get you money’s worth. Though they are great, the stand out in terms of the cast, and easily the best character, is Kumail Nanjiani as Pawny who is just freaking hilarious. He gets all of the best lines in the film, each of which were hilarious, he has some great interactions with the two agents, and Najiani voices the character well really capturing that personality. Another stand out would be Emma Thompson reprising her role as Agent O from MIB 3, and she is just as awesome even if she does not get much screen time here. Liam Neeson is about as good as he always is (which means really good) , even if he also doesn’t really do much for most of the film as High T, although I did enjoy Rafe Spall as Agent C, a high ranking MIB agent who is very skeptical about Agent H’s past, and he’s actually not as unlikable as you might think just from reading his description. The alien assassins in question, the Twins, are interesting in concept but are wasted in execution even with Laurent, and Larry Bourgeois showing off some sick dance moves. As for Rebbecca Ferguson who plays Riza Stavros, an intergalactic arms dealer who has a history with H, I like how she’s playing against type compared to her other more serious roles, but the character herself is just really one dimensional, and has very little screen time (plus that wig she wears is very noticeable). There are also some amusing little cameos from recurring MIB aliens that will make some fans grin.
MIB International is an enjoyable, and occasionally charming reboot that plays it a bit too safe. If your a fan of the franchise or if you like the cast, than you will most likely have a good time. While its not as great as I hoped it would be, its still not nearly as bad as most people are saying it is, and me and my friend had a surprisingly fun time talking about the twist, and how it went. In terms of where this film lands in terms of the franchise as a whole, its definitely not as good as the first one, or even the third one, it is however much better than the second one as it is not nearly as frustrating as that film. Judging by how its doing financially this is probably the last we will see of this franchise for awhile (unless Sony pulls a Ghostbusters, and announces a legacy sequel with Smith, and Jones instead of actually going with the original version of this film) which is a shame considering this franchise had so much potential to be long running, span many different forms of media, and become a very popular franchise. Oh well, at least there are more MIB films that I like than dislike.
Rating: B-
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