Review of Men in Black 3

'Men in Black 3' is a 2012 American 3D science fiction comedy film starring Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones and Josh Brolin. The film is the third installment of the 'Men In Black' series based on the Malibu Comics series called 'The Men in Black' by Lowell Cunningham. Barry Sonnenfeld returned as director and Steven Spielberg returned as executive producer. The film basis around an old enemy of Agent K's (Tommy Lee Jones), called Boris the Animal (Jermaine Clement) going back in time to kill Agent K to prevent him from shooting off his arm and arresting him. THIS REVIEW CONTAINS MILD SPOILERS!


I will always stand by the my own opinion that the first film of the series is the best, but I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the third installment. It's not as good as the first one but it is definitely better than the second film. I'm going to begin with the story, all together it isn't that great, very few time travel stories are great because a lot of the time they are fundamentally flawed. This one is no different, because there are some blatantly obvious flaws as soon as the time travel aspect begins, I'm not going to go into anymore detail because it may ruin the story for you. With the film being mostly set in 1969 it provides a great opportunity for a change of pace and scenery to suit the decade and make the film stand out next to its predecessors. It's interesting to see what MIB technology was like back in late 60s compared to what it is like in the films set in the current day (the film is set before humanity had even made it onto the moon!).What is good about it though, is that the story is set out and told in a simple enough way so that all audiences can keep up and understand what is going on. Another surprise was that the 3D aspect of this film wasn't bad, like most 3D films out these days the 3D parts aren't that obvious in places but there are some great 3D moments in this movie. One especially good moment is near the beginning when Agent J walks into the hardware store, the owner has lasers on and in 3D it looks fantastic! Also that isn't the only coming out of the screen 3D moment in the film, which is nice to see for a change. More 3D films which revert back to old 3D when it was just about things flying out of the screen at you, it makes you experience much better! 


The real savior for this film however is the cast, Will Smith is brilliant as always, he is the reason the 'Men in Black' movies are loved, and that's because he is naturally funny. The film would be boring without him. Tommy Lee Jones, although he only gets a small amount of screen time, is a fundamental necessity to the film and story, and in his short amount of time, Jones establishes himself as the hard faced, stern talking father figure that Agent J longs to connect to. Jermaine Clement turned out to be a really good villain, he portrayed Boris the Animal really well, he was both funny and dangerous. Michael Stuhlbarg plays Griffin, an alien with precognitive powers, at first I thought I wasn't going to like this character because he seemed quite annoying, but as the film goes on I really started to like him. He has the ability to see many different futures that might or might not happen, which although many would see as a gift, he sees as a burden which he hates to carry, this becomes as the film progresses and we see a deep emotional character that can't bare to see the more darker versions of the future come to light. The real star of the film however, is Josh Brolin as the young Agent K. He portrays Agent K perfectly, in both the way he speaks, and his mannerisms. You'd almost think the voice was being dubbed by Tommy Lee Jones. He doesn't just mimic Jones' character, he also adds his own twist to it, showing that he hasn't always been the same person, that he was young once too. The audience gets to see what we love of Agent K, but also a new side to him which keeps the character fresh. Honestly Brolin is brilliant.


I also really liked the ending to this movie, we get a nice bit of action and something that pulls at our heartstrings, bringing the whole story round to a full circle. Brings it all to a close as this was intended to be the last film. Although Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones have been approached and have shown interest in a fourth installment. Which I wouldn't want them to do because it would ruin how this film ends, but I'd probably still go and see it because I love the franchise.


Here's a top tip for you, constantly be on the look out when you're watching this film, there are loads of links to previous characters from the other films and whenever they're in the MIB headquarters, look at the screens that monitor alien activity on earth, you can spot a few well known celebrities, including Lady Gaga, Tim Burton and I think Justin Bieber and David Beckham (I'm not positive on those last two).


All in all, it's a really good film, definitely worth seeing. it has flaws, but it has strong elements of what makes the series so enjoyable in the first place. I'd give 'Men in Black 3' an 8/10.