This review is from: Men in Black III (DVD + UV Copy) [2012] (DVD)
Having seen this in the cinema yesterday I was quite surprised to read some of the reviews on this site. First of all, I must state that I am not a big fan of MIB or MIB2 – I thought they were OK films. My young son wanted to see this so my wife and I thought it would help alleviate a wet and windy afternoon. All I can say is Wow, how pleasantly surprised we were. I thought the action scenes were adequate and the gags were quite funny. Where I have to differ with most of the other reviewers is that I thought the story was excellent. It takes you on a brief history trip while managing to round off the MIB story, taking the characters full circle. As I stated, I wasn’t a fan of the other MIB films but we all really enjoyed this one. If you’re undecided as to whether or not to watch it, give it a go – you may be as pleasantly surprised as we were. I would certainly watch it again. It’s also worth mentioning that you don’t have to have seen 1 and 2 to be able to follow this one. Hope this helps.
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This review is from: Men in Black III (DVD + UV Copy) [2012] (DVD)
When the original Men in Black film came out, it was to a lot of hype. The film was a huge success, as it more than lived up to the expectations it had built up for itself.
When the second MiB film was released, it was to an equal amount of hype. It was ok, provided you didn’t mind seeing the plot of the first film with the roles reversed. Not a huge success, but it had some good moments.
And now we have the third film. I had not seen as much hype about it, and the trailer looked promising. So I decided to go and watch it to see how they faired this time around.
First of all, the plot was thankfully different: as you are probably aware, time travel is involved. Agend K (Smith) has to go back in time to save Agent J’s (Jones) younger self (Brolin) from being killed. This leads to the inevitable “Black man in racist-era New York” confrontation. Which is played for laughs, and bizarrely, works! That only plays a minor part in the plot, and your opinions probably vary as to whether or not that is a good thing.
The plot is pretty straight-forward, with lots of hinting about the events in past early on. Sure enough, by the end of the film, all the major questions are answered, and very few plot holes are created (and the one or two that do stand out are not enough to spoil your enjoyment).
Casting is crucial, and when you have to select an actor to play a younger version of a well established character, it becomes even more critical. There has been varying success in other films: Ewan McGregor is almost believable as a younger Alec Guiness in the Star Wars franchise. Rob Lowe as a young Robert Wagner in Austin Powers is not so spot-on, but we forgive as he is plays the part so well. But what of Josh Brolin as Tommy Lee Jones?
Flawless.
Characterisation – excellent. Accent – well, I still don’t know if it was Brolin speaking or Jones dubbing him! Either way, it was not a distraction, other than to marvel at how good a job they did.
As for the Big Bad… Jemaine Clement as Boris is very good. Wonderfully hammy, not too cheesy, and instantly dislikable. In short, everything you want in a comedy drama such as this. As an aside, I did not realise until after the film was over that he was one half of the comedy musical duo Flight of the Conchords. And yes, I have seen it the mockumentary… he really was that unrecognisable, which is all to Clement’s credit.
The story itself was nothing special – in essence it is a standard plot that crops up every now and then in Doctor Who, and was the staple for every Quantum Leap episode ever made. Nevertheless, they made it work here, and they made it fun. It was clichéd, but that’s not always a bad thing. After all, a cliché is only a plot device that gets re-used because it works well.
If you want a sci-fi film that will make you think, then this is not for you. If you want a bit of well acted silly and funny nonsense then this is likely to be right up your street.
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A decade away from the movie scene has given the Men In Black series a chance at a fresher, newer perspective. Taking its cue from Shrek Forever After, MIB 3 takes on a tired concept (time travel in this case) if only to acknowledge the failure of its dull sequel and take us back to a different era allowing us to view the franchise from an unsullied angle. The result is a film that returns to its roots and gives audiences the chance to relive much of what they first enjoyed – a smart, sci-fi, buddy comedy that embraces everything weird and wonderful about the unknown universe.
In his first cinematic role in nearly 4 years, Will Smith’s Agent J is the usual charming, witty wiseass we expect him to be. Still teamed up with the laconic Agent K (wrinkly Tommy Lee Jones) he is no closer to cracking his older partners deadpan demeanour but their relationship issues take a back seat when a nemesis from Kay’s past, Boris the animal, turns up to exact revenge for having been imprisoned on the moon 40 years ago. His elaborate plan takes him back in the past, to the day he was caught, and sets ripples in the present, where K no longer exists and a different reality results. J has to then literally time jump (off the Empire State building no less) and fix the past for normalcy to return in the present.
The films primary achievement and a true signal of its return to form though are the scenes set in the past. Not only is Josh Brolin a deadringer for Tommy Lee’s K during his youth, but the hip musical vibes of the late 60’s/early 70’s allow for plenty of playfulness to ensue with a particularly hilarious segment devoted to Andy Warhol. If that isn’t enough, everything very neatly ties into another epochal scientific moment from that time period and ends on a moment of curiously satisfying emotionality that provides not only closure to the film but the series as a whole. If that doesn’t make you forgive all the wrongs that the sequel did and embrace this film as one of the years better movie franchise offerings the only thing that might work on you is a neuralizer.
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Sorry, but we really enjoyed it!,
Having seen this in the cinema yesterday I was quite surprised to read some of the reviews on this site. First of all, I must state that I am not a big fan of MIB or MIB2 – I thought they were OK films. My young son wanted to see this so my wife and I thought it would help alleviate a wet and windy afternoon. All I can say is Wow, how pleasantly surprised we were. I thought the action scenes were adequate and the gags were quite funny. Where I have to differ with most of the other reviewers is that I thought the story was excellent. It takes you on a brief history trip while managing to round off the MIB story, taking the characters full circle.
As I stated, I wasn’t a fan of the other MIB films but we all really enjoyed this one. If you’re undecided as to whether or not to watch it, give it a go – you may be as pleasantly surprised as we were. I would certainly watch it again. It’s also worth mentioning that you don’t have to have seen 1 and 2 to be able to follow this one. Hope this helps.
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|Familiar, and fun,
When the original Men in Black film came out, it was to a lot of hype. The film was a huge success, as it more than lived up to the expectations it had built up for itself.
When the second MiB film was released, it was to an equal amount of hype. It was ok, provided you didn’t mind seeing the plot of the first film with the roles reversed. Not a huge success, but it had some good moments.
And now we have the third film. I had not seen as much hype about it, and the trailer looked promising. So I decided to go and watch it to see how they faired this time around.
First of all, the plot was thankfully different: as you are probably aware, time travel is involved. Agend K (Smith) has to go back in time to save Agent J’s (Jones) younger self (Brolin) from being killed. This leads to the inevitable “Black man in racist-era New York” confrontation. Which is played for laughs, and bizarrely, works! That only plays a minor part in the plot, and your opinions probably vary as to whether or not that is a good thing.
The plot is pretty straight-forward, with lots of hinting about the events in past early on. Sure enough, by the end of the film, all the major questions are answered, and very few plot holes are created (and the one or two that do stand out are not enough to spoil your enjoyment).
Casting is crucial, and when you have to select an actor to play a younger version of a well established character, it becomes even more critical. There has been varying success in other films: Ewan McGregor is almost believable as a younger Alec Guiness in the Star Wars franchise. Rob Lowe as a young Robert Wagner in Austin Powers is not so spot-on, but we forgive as he is plays the part so well. But what of Josh Brolin as Tommy Lee Jones?
Flawless.
Characterisation – excellent. Accent – well, I still don’t know if it was Brolin speaking or Jones dubbing him! Either way, it was not a distraction, other than to marvel at how good a job they did.
As for the Big Bad… Jemaine Clement as Boris is very good. Wonderfully hammy, not too cheesy, and instantly dislikable. In short, everything you want in a comedy drama such as this. As an aside, I did not realise until after the film was over that he was one half of the comedy musical duo Flight of the Conchords. And yes, I have seen it the mockumentary… he really was that unrecognisable, which is all to Clement’s credit.
The story itself was nothing special – in essence it is a standard plot that crops up every now and then in Doctor Who, and was the staple for every Quantum Leap episode ever made. Nevertheless, they made it work here, and they made it fun. It was clichéd, but that’s not always a bad thing. After all, a cliché is only a plot device that gets re-used because it works well.
If you want a sci-fi film that will make you think, then this is not for you. If you want a bit of well acted silly and funny nonsense then this is likely to be right up your street.
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|men in black go back 3,
A decade away from the movie scene has given the Men In Black series a chance at a fresher, newer perspective. Taking its cue from Shrek Forever After, MIB 3 takes on a tired concept (time travel in this case) if only to acknowledge the failure of its dull sequel and take us back to a different era allowing us to view the franchise from an unsullied angle. The result is a film that returns to its roots and gives audiences the chance to relive much of what they first enjoyed – a smart, sci-fi, buddy comedy that embraces everything weird and wonderful about the unknown universe.
In his first cinematic role in nearly 4 years, Will Smith’s Agent J is the usual charming, witty wiseass we expect him to be. Still teamed up with the laconic Agent K (wrinkly Tommy Lee Jones) he is no closer to cracking his older partners deadpan demeanour but their relationship issues take a back seat when a nemesis from Kay’s past, Boris the animal, turns up to exact revenge for having been imprisoned on the moon 40 years ago. His elaborate plan takes him back in the past, to the day he was caught, and sets ripples in the present, where K no longer exists and a different reality results. J has to then literally time jump (off the Empire State building no less) and fix the past for normalcy to return in the present.
The films primary achievement and a true signal of its return to form though are the scenes set in the past. Not only is Josh Brolin a deadringer for Tommy Lee’s K during his youth, but the hip musical vibes of the late 60’s/early 70’s allow for plenty of playfulness to ensue with a particularly hilarious segment devoted to Andy Warhol. If that isn’t enough, everything very neatly ties into another epochal scientific moment from that time period and ends on a moment of curiously satisfying emotionality that provides not only closure to the film but the series as a whole. If that doesn’t make you forgive all the wrongs that the sequel did and embrace this film as one of the years better movie franchise offerings the only thing that might work on you is a neuralizer.
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|