MIB: Homens de Preto III

The criminal Boris the Animal (Jemaine Clement) escapes from the LunaMax, a moon-based maximum security prison. He comes to Earth seeking revenge from Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) that has blown his arm up and arrested him forty years ago and protected Earth from a Boglodyte invasion. Boris is defeated again and he travels back in time to 1969 to kill Agent K.

When Agent J (Will Smith) notes that the time line has changed in the present days and Agent O (Emma Thompson) tells him that K died in 1969, he decides to travel to 15 July 1969 to save K on the next day. Agent J has difficulties to convince the Young Agent K (Josh Brolin) with lies, but when he decides to tell the truth, K believes in his words and they seek out Boris together.

They are helped by the amicable alien Griiffin (Michael Stuhlbarg) that has precognitive powers and gives the ArcNet to K to protect Earth from the Boglodyte invasion. Further, J learns a secret about K and himself.

"Men in Black 3" is a great adventure of this franchise, with a wonderful story and magnificent special effects. I had low expectations with movie, but I was favorably surprised with an adorable film. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "MIB³ - Homens de Preto 3" ("MIB³ - Men in Black 3")

I am not exactly a Will Smith fan. I think the last Will Smith film I watched and liked was the first "Men in Black" film back in 1997. I was surprised to learn that there will be another installment of "Men in Black" this year, the third of the series. The second MiB was shown in 2002, and I did not even care to finish that one. Will the ten years between the last episode and this one make a difference? I needed to see that.

In this film, a vicious alien villain known as Boris the Animal escapes from his prison on the moon, where he had been locked up since being arrested by Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) back in 1969. One day, Agent K disappears from the present day. His partner Agent J (Will Smith) realizes that K had been assassinated by Boris forty years ago, which caused a major change of events, allowing Boris' alien race to overrun the Earth. J had to find a way to travel back in time to 1969 in order to save K and rectify the tragic consequences of his death. Can J save K and in turn save the Earth from the clutches of Boris?

The odd couple was just as they were before in the first films. Will Smith is still his old loudmouth Agent J as Tommy Lee Jones was his tight-lipped Agent K. As J goes back to the past, he will interact with the young 29-year old K, perfectly played by Josh Brolin. Brolin amazingly captures the laconic persona, and even the distinct voice, of Jones so well that they seemed to have been one and the same actor. It was also good to see Emma Thompson again in a major film as she portrayed Agent O, another senior agent with a soft spot for K. The younger Agent O was played by a cutie named Alice Eve, but she certainly did not convince us that she would look or act like Emma Thompson when she grows older.

I must say that this film was really a most entertaining one. Well, maybe more for me than for my kids. Younger audiences may find the jokes about 1969 cultural references, such as the hippies, the racial tension, etc., to be a bit difficult to grasp. But the fun action sequences with some exciting futuristic vehicles and weaponry, the imaginative and repulsive aliens made by no less than the master monster-maker Rick Baker, the thrilling integration of the historic Apollo 11 lift-off, and the touching revelation of K's big secret made this a very good and enjoyable movie to watch. 3D did not seem necessary. Director Barry Sonnenfeld got it right this time, and this segment certainly gave perfect closure to the story arc of the whole series.

Before the time travel stuff, it's a bit tired...but man, once we go back in time, it's actually astonishing how great it is. Brolin rules, the model party scene is perfect, and I don't think it can be overstated how wonderful Griff is. Most importantly, it solidifies J and K's relationship in ways that most Hollywood comedy sequels wouldn't even bother, becoming a surprisingly emotional story of friendship and commitment.

This film is about Agent J going back in time to rescue Agent K from being murdered by aliens.

My friends say that "Men in Black III" is a brainless comedy, you can go in just for a few laughs and switch your brain off. After watching it, I can safely say that I have another opinion.

"Men in Black III" does have its brainless moments. It can be politically incorrect too, but it is entertaining and fun to watch. Special effects are realistic, and the scene involving a very tall building made me so nervous that my palms perspired a lot! The ending is very touching; I certainly did not see it coming even though a friend guessed it.

I think it is great that "Men in Black III" manages to combine emotional elements in the middle of mainstream blockbuster entertainment. I look forward to the next film in the series already.

I remember back in 2002, after "Men in Black II" came out, there was chatter about a third film. And I was excited to see a third film, even though the second was a poorly-written, under-developed cash-grab that felt as though it was without identity. I was just too addicted to the chemistry between Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith, and I loved the world that director Barry Sonnenfeld had helped create in the first two entries.

But as time went on, it seemed less and less likely. Sure, we'd hear a tidbit of news here, or a rumor there... But it was never anything substantial. After about five years, I gave up all hope that a third film would even happen. So you can imagine my surprise when this film was finally released in 2012, about 10 years after the prior entry.

And you can also imagine my surprise that despite the second film being... well, pretty bad, this one was actually a very shocking and surprising return to form, and is actually a pretty strong and generally well-told sequel.

Smith and Jones return as agents J and K, now having known each other for about 14 years. They have their usual tension and banter, but J is starting to notice some odd things about K, and wonders what made him the way he is. However, this is put on hold when a ruthless alien villain called Boris "The Animal" (Jemaine Clement) escapes from prison and uses a time traveling device to go back in time and murder a younger Agent K. J, somehow being one of the only people to remember who who K even was, is forced to follow Boris back to 1969 and stop him from killing a younger Agent K (Josh Brolin). J and the young K must also work together to stop Boris's other dastardly plans for the future in the process.

The acting is a lot better this time around. Particularly in terms of the chemistry between Smith and Jones, which I felt was somewhat muted by the poor writing in the prior film. Their banter and dialog is almost as good as it was in the original, and both actors are great not only together, but on their own as well. Josh Brolin is also a bit of a revelation as the young K, who appears on-screen far more than the older, modern K. Brolin isn't just doing a Tommy Lee Jones impression, he's doing something different, since K was a different man in 1969. It's interesting to see how K evolves and changes over the course of the film due to what happens, and we can see how he will eventually become the man we first see in the original. Brolin just nailed it perfectly.

The villain portrayed by Clement is also a lot of fun, and he has some great moments of not only comedy, but of intimidation and creepiness. (Although I will admit he's not a deep character and is borderline one- dimensional, I can forgive it because at least he wasn't terribly written as... certain other villains from a certain other "Men in Black" sequel were) And Michael Stuhlbarg as Griffin, a 5th dimensional being who is able to see all possible outcomes of all situations at once in the past, present and future is a LOT of fun. He's a major supporting character, and both his child-like glee and his darkness in being such an all-seeing character are both well played. He's almost the heart of the film.

The production is a lot of fun, especially with the time-travel plot, which gives us two radically different visual aesthetics. The set, costume and of course Rick Baker's alien designs are fantastic in both time-lines. I particularly enjoyed how Baker and his team made the aliens in the 1969 New York look more like aliens from cheesy, old- school Sci-Fi flicks from that era as opposed to the more modern and intricate designs of characters from the modern day sequences.

Sonnenfeld's direction is a lot more fluid and fun in this film. (Again, as opposed to the second... I really hate to keep comparing this film to the second, but it's hard not to when this is so much better) And the script written by Etan Cohen is funny, tightly-paced and has some unexpected and truly heartfelt moments that may in fact bring a tear to your eye.

This film does lose a few points, however, in that some of its jokes are very hit and miss, and a few plot-related issues. In particular with the time-travel approach. I did notice many inconsistencies and changes to the "rules" of time travel throughout. And it did bug me quite a bit. However, not enough to ruin the film.

Despite some flaws, this is still a very solid, well-made sequel and is a definite return to form for the series. And it has re-ignited that "Men in Black" fire, and left me hoping for a potential fourth film.

I give "Men in Black 3" a pretty good 7 out of 10.