Men in Black 3 (2012)

[Patrick Sun]

Title: Men in Black 3

Tagline: They are back... in time.

Genre: Action, Comedy, Science Fiction

Director: Barry Sonnenfeld

Cast: Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin, Jemaine Clement, Emma Thompson, Michael Stuhlbarg, Mike Colter, Nicole Scherzinger, Michael Chernus, Alice Eve, David Rasche, Keone Young, Bill Hader, Cayen Martin, Clarke Thorell, Adam Mucci, Tom McComas, Douglas Crosby, Woodie King Jr., Jack O'Connell, Tobias Segal, Jon Shaver, Gerritt Vandermeer, Alexandra O'Hara, Violet O'Hara, Valence Thomas, Chloe Sonnenfeld, Lanny Flaherty, Jonathan O'Hara, Rick Baker, Joseph D'Onofrio, Joseph R. Gannascoli, Katy Frame, Kevin Townley, Stephen Brian Jones, Tyler Johnson, Kati Rediger, Victor Joel Ortiz, Charlie Barnett, Ian Blackman, Jeremy Beiler, Liliane Klein, Britt Chandler Johnson, Jared Johnston, Ken Arnold, Jonathan Drew, Joel Brady, David Pittu, Lenny Venito, Anthony J. Gallo, James Martin Kelly, Will McLaughlin, Kimmy Suzuki, Kirk Larsen, Javier Rivera, Barry Sonnenfeld, Susan Ringo, Stephanie Ellis, Ben Mac Brown, Amy Erwitt, Brad Abrell, Tim Blaney, Thom Fountain, Carl J. Johnson, Will Arnett, Jada Pinkett Smith, Tony Shalhoub

Release: 2012-05-23

Runtime: 106

Plot: Agents J and K are back...in time. J has seen some inexplicable things in his 15 years with the Men in Black, but nothing, not even aliens, perplexes him as much as his wry, reticent partner. But when K's life and the fate of the planet are put at stake, Agent J will have to travel back in time to put things right. J discovers that there are secrets to the universe that K never told him - secrets that will reveal themselves as he teams up with the young Agent K to save his partner, the agency, and the future of humankind.

Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones return for the 3rd installment of the Men in Black franchise. They bring along Josh Brolin, who plays the younger K character when J has to go back in time to save older K. Brolin does a spot-on K impersonation in his younger years.
The film isn't as busy as the first one was, and I didn't much like the 2nd one, and it has a decent storyline, but the villain is too one-note and un-interesting. It did feel like Will Smith was over-acting at times, maybe that's the J character, but it's been a while since I saw either of 2 MIB films, so maybe I'm just not as forgiving of his portrayal.
And if this was the last MIB film, it managed to tie up most of the loose ends.
I give it 2.75 stars, or a grade of B-.

 

[Jonathan_Clarke]

I really enjoyed it, much more than I thought I would.
The first film is one of my favorite movies ever, easily in my top 5. The second is just disappointing, a Ghostbusters 2 type misfire. This gets the franchise back on track.
This feels like Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade; not the classic the first film is but solidly entertaining and with more heart than you'd expect. Also, much better than the second.

 

[Rhett_Y]

I too really enjoyed this one. Much better than the second one. I really liked the bad guy in this one too. All around I give it a solid B.

 

[DaveF]

You can't recreate the magic of the original, but this was solid. The story was surprisingly coherent - especially for a time travel movie. I enjoyed it, but didn't love it. I hoped for more spark, but it didn't feel as sloppy as the second.

 

[cafink]

The guy who gives J the time-travel device says something about him being able to remember K (when no one else can) because he was "there," or something like that. It sounded at the time like they were setting up some big revelation for later in the movie, but nothing really ever came of it that I can remember. Was there something later in the movie that viewers are supposed to connect with that line, or was it just supposed to be an quick, inconsequential explanation for J's memory of K as a plot convenience?

 

[DaveF]

Originally Posted by cafink /t/321087/men-in-black-3-quick-review#post_3936831
The guy who gives J the time-travel device says something about him being able to remember K (when no one else can) because he was "there," or something like that. It sounded at the time like they were setting up some big revelation for later in the movie, but nothing really ever came of it that I can remember. Was there something later in the movie that viewers are supposed to connect with that line, or was it just supposed to be an quick, inconsequential explanation for J's memory of K as a plot convenience?

I understood it as the plot device (and suggesting time travel paradox). J was the only one to remember K because he time-traveled there. And he time-traveled there because he was the only one to remember K.

But perhaps deleted scenes will reveal something more that was originally intended to boost that seemingly throw-away comment.

 

[ScottJH]

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

The little kid that gets out of the vehicle on the beach is young J. If you didn't catch that you might not have caught that the Army officer that is killed is J 's dad

 

[cafink]

I did catch that, Scott, but I didn't connect it back to the "you were there" comment. How does his presence there as a kid cause his memory to act differently from everyone else's when K disappears from the future?

 

[Johnny Angell]

I did catch that, Scott, but I didn't connect it back to the "you were there" comment. How does his presence there as a kid cause his memory to act differently from everyone else's when K disappears from the future?

Well, cause the script says so. He remembers him because he met K as a child. He knew him before the point the villain changed history. Sure, it's thin, but it's time travel, aliens on earth, and all that. For the sake of the movie, it works for me.
As stated before, the villain is bland and the character who could see possible futures was not that interesting either. Brolin was excellent, if he doesn't pull it off, there's no movie.
Anyone notice the carny poster for a freak show featuring a talking pug?

 

[Chuck Anstey]

You know, I had assumed the "You were there" line was the standard timeline paradox prevention where J had "always" gone back in time to fix the problem so adult J was there every time. I never thought about it referring to young J until the last few posts.

 

[TonyD]

I sw the talki g dog poster, pretty good stuff.
Liked it, we saw it 3D today. Could have done without the 3D but we had two ten dollar coupons so we paid for the extra.
I did like the guy who could see all the alternate variations on time.
3.5 out of 5

 

[DaveF]

Griffin was wonderful!

 

[Johnny Angell]

A highlight of the first film was Vincent D'Onofrio. He made the villain a real, and sometimes funny, character. This latest villain was, in spite of being uuuggggly, kinda vanilla. All he did was shout in a gravelly voice. A memorable performance would have lifted the film a lot.

 

[DaveF]

D'Onofrio's performance in the original MIB verged on brilliant. His staccato performance and physical tics made the Bug Man such a memorable character.

 

[Johnny Angell]

Yes, and the other two movies didn't have anything close to that. If we had MIB3's villain in the first movie, there might not have been any sequels.