Remember Men in Black? I sure do, flashy thingies notwithstanding.
1997’s buddy cop movie with a difference was something that came
out at just the right time—Will Smith was top of his game after blowing up even
more aliens in Independence Day, and as the biggest star of the time, he tapped
into the nineties X-Files clad zeitgeist that obsessed over UFOs and old
conspiracy lore. And to make it even better, it all came with a deadpan
humorous tone, that still holds up very nicely today. As with something like
Ghostbusters, there was just the right balance of serious stakes and goofing
around—with Tommy Lee Jones unsmiling humor being just the cherry on top.
The followups…weren’t as great. 2002’s Men in Black II was
mostly a redundant cash-in sequel, with a lot of similar jokes and similar
setup. Watched by itself, it’s passable I guess, but not something I’d bother
too strongly with. A whole decade later, Men in Black III proved an improved
instalment—still not on the level of the first, but it tried a different sort
of storyline with time travel and a greatly entertaining Jemaine Clement as a
vengeful alien assassin. Not a classic by any means, but amusingly watchable.
And that brings us to a fourth part, with a brand new cast, and a brand new
focus—does it continue to improve, or are you better off calling Mulder and
Scully?
This time around, we have Tessa Thompson as a UFO obsessive
stumbling into MIB headquarters and pretty much straight into a black suit, and
sent out to the suede-clad organization’s London branch to meet more experienced
agent Chris Hemsworth. The leads are…fine. Thompson does her best with what she
has, and Hemsworth plays basically every character he’s played lately, namely a
slightly doofy schmuck with flashes of competence. It’s adequate, but
definitely not as classic as Jones and Smith. Liam Neeson also shows up as the
head of the London branch, growling and snapping as he often does, and while he
lends his scenes a certain gravitas, it still doesn’t pop.
The storyline is somewhat interesting on paper—there’s a new
ruse played with the idea of the titular organization having been infiltrated,
but the red herring is obvious enough that you’ll probably work it out. As
such, Hemsworth and Thompson have to think more creatively as they go from
Morocco to Italy to Paris. The action is…fine. Nothing incredible, but there’s
some nicely colorful raygun exchanges, and French dancers Les Twins play a pair
of alien interlopers with some very memorable
designs. Seriously, their look is easily the most creative and awesome element
of the entire film.
Oh, and Kumail Nanjiani also voices a small thimble-sized
alien soldier that latches onto Thompson as her sidekick. You…may find him
annoying, but he’s no Jar Jar at least.
Overall, I’d put the film as just under Men in Black III; it’s
nothing I’d say you should rush out and see, but I must admit I did chuckle at parts, and it might be worth a watch on a
lazy Sunday afternoon. Now, what gets interesting is something I found out
after I saw it—namely the litany of production issues it had, with creative
minds being switched in and out. This sort of thing also happened with Dark Phoenix,
and as this one didn’t turn out nearly such a mess, I guess I should be
thankful.
So, it’s, eh, okay. I probably won’t rush to rewatch it, but
at least I’m not craving a neuralyzer right now.
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