By: debbie lynn elias
It has long been said, the third time’s a charm. Sadly, that phrase doesn’t too often apply to movie franchises. By the time the third sequel film roles around, characters are typically hackneyed, old, tired and sorely lacking in enthusiasm and originality. With MEN IN BLACK 3, however, after a ten year absence, Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones jump back into the alien-busting saddle with lasers and neuralizers blazing, bringing us the return of Agents J and K in a summer blockbuster extravaganza that‘s out of this world. While we meet more than our fill of requisite aliens, this go round there’s a story that is not only fun, but filled with heart and humor.
Boris the Animal is one of the most heinous criminals in the universe. The last of the Bogladites, thanks to Agent K, he has spent the past 40 years housed in Lunar Max, a high security prison on the moon. One armed (thanks to K), at the time of his capture, Boris and company were on a path of destruction (a la “Independence Day”) to invade and destroy every planet in the universe, with the Earth next on the list. In a legendary act of heroism, during a showdown at cape Canaveral, a very young Agent K “disarmed” Boris, and at the same time designed and put a security system called “The Arc Net” into play as a means to protect the Earth from invasion…all on July 16, 1969, the day Apollo 11 lifted off for the moon. Interestingly, none of this has ever been revealed to K’s faithful partner, J.
But 40 years in maximum security with his one remaining arm housed in a steel straight jacket (his hand is home to an ugly little creature that shoots out spikes, killing unwitting victims), and body, neck and other extremities chained to a concrete wall, can make someone more than a bit cranky, not to mention give them a lot of time to plot revenge and escape. And Boris has done just that. His plan: escape, head to Earth, time travel back to 1969 and kill K before K can take his arm and his freedom.
While Boris is hatching his little scheme, back on Earth, J and K are doing what they do best – control the alien population and battle intergalactic crime in NYC while trading barbs and bickering together like an old married couple. And after all these years, J still knows how to get under K’s skin, especially when trying to dredge up mysteries of the universe that K doesnft think should ever be told, mysteries that deal with K’s past.
Without warning, something untoward happens and a noticeable shift in the universe happens. Heading out for the day to pick up K, J finds K’s apartment to not be his apartment and K not to be in existence. And MIB is now run by Agent O who, to squelch the panic rising in J at not being able to find K, informs him that K has been dead for 40 years, having been killed by Boris the Animal in a showdown at Cape Canaveral. But that’s not what happened! Or is it?
Quickly realizing that time has indeed shifted, J knows what he must do – travel back in time to 1969 to save K and the earth and do what should have been done from the start, kill Boris.
Encountering a more than pleasant, in fact, NICE Agent K, the two embark on the most dangerous and revealing of all their missions – save K, save the world and find out what made K go from sweet as pie to pie eating curmudgeon.
Smith and Jones are the best at what they do. As J and K, no one protects the intergalactic peace better than they. Retaining their well established sensibilities with Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones as the free-wheeling, smart alecky J and stoic, acerbic, crusty, nary a smile cracking K, we are treated to a comfortable and entertaining familiarity. We know them and still love them. But then director Barry Sonnenfeld and scribe Etan Cohen give us a twist. Thanks to the joys of time travel, we get to meet a young, unjaded K, courtesy of Josh Brolin. Can we just say – doppleganger!!!!
Brolin is perfection! While Brolin has always born a strong resemblance to Jones (get a look at some college pics of Jones and then look at Brolin), slide him into a black suit, slick back the hair, and let him nail the perfunctory cadence of Jones’ ” K speak” and yes indeed, we truly have gone back in time. The casting of, and performance by, Brolin is pure genius. Never making K a caricature or imitation of Jones’ work, Brolin starts with the outward appearance and then develops his own interpretation that is a loving homage to a beloved character.
Joining in the fray in one of the most frighteningly believable alien performances to come around in many a year is “Flight of the Conchordes”, Jemaine Clement. Thanks to the handiwork of creature creator Rick Baker, Clement is transformed, both physically and emotionally, to the point of creep-me-out levels, while still retaining an “earthy” 1960’s “Easy Rider” quality and look. Commanding, interesting and exciting, Clement brings a strong physicality to the role that is more than fun.
Emma Thompson gets her own shot at donning the black suit, albeit one with a skirt (done intentionally by the costumers to show off her legs), as the new head of MIB, Agent O. And Thompson has her own little bit of mystery going on. Successfully blending secrecy, rapid fire dialogue delivery and smart alecky wit to rival that of Will Smith, should there by an MIB4, I sincerely hope we see more of Thompson’s O. As part of the time travelling twist, Alice Eve plays a young O who is more than enamored with the young K, and who, contrary to the K wefve all known, is more than smitten with the buxom little blonde. Although Eve perfectly embodies the look of the 60’s (thanks to a great hair and costuming department), as I have also noted with Eve’s recent performances in “ATM” and “The Raven”, sadly, she is again less than memorable.
A real star in the heavens is a sweet turn by Michael Stuhlbarg as Griffin, a loveable alien who not only predicts the future, but does so on a multi-planed level. Stuhlbarg steals not only many of the scenes with Smith and Jones, but your heart as well. Stuhlbarg’s Griffin is to MIB3 what Joe Pesci brought to the Riggs-Murtaugh dynamic of “Lethal Weapon”. Not to be missed is one spot-on hysterical performance by Bill Hader as Andy Warhol. Beyond funny. Warhol himself would undoubtedly be applauding!
Written by Etan Cohen, not only do we delve deeper into the characters and their intriguingly layered relationship (not to mention the importance of pie), but with time travel taking us into 1960’s NY and wrapping in the thematic elements of Apollo 11 and man’s first manned mission to the moon, is a candy store for the creative. From culturally quick witted dialogue to celebratory visual thematics, Cohen and director Sonnenfeld make us feel as if we too, have transported back to 1969. And surprising as it may seem, tears will flow at the most emotional climactic scene in the franchise, so bring tissues!
Applause, Applause to Sonnenfeld and team for their stunning use of 3D technology. Now this is what 3D is for! Not gratuitous in any respect, the 3D is used wisely, judiciously and to its highest capabilities, adding tactile sensory depth visually and emotionally, enhancing the film and the viewing experience. Complimenting the 3D are the FX talents of Ken Ralston and Jay Redd, the excellence of which is only compounded by the VFX from Sony Picture Imageworks. Several scenes are so “trippy” that even I was gasping at the beauty and wonder. And of course, Rick Baker works his own magic with make-up and creature creation – over 100 new aliens in all, including himself in a small cameo. Also adding to the eye-popping (literally and figuratively) extravaganza are the coolest gadgets and gizmos wefve seen yet. And make sure you pay attention to production design for 1969. Banks of Univac computers, old school equipment, phones, guns (with bullets), and even old school yet, high tech, room-sized neuralizer and weaponry with a futuristic capability and sensibility, will have you agog, not to mention the integration and recreation of the Apollo 11 launch.
The final piece of the puzzle is Danny Elfman’s hauntingly captivating score.
MEN IN BLACK 3 – it’s out of this world!
Agent J – Will Smith
Agent K – Tommy Lee Jones
Young Agent K – Josh Brolin
Agent O – Emma Thompson
Boris the Animal – Jemaine Clement
Griffin – Michael Stuhlbarg
Young Agent O – Alice Eve
Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld. Written by Etan Cohen.
