Movie Review: Men In Black International
It’s been 22 years (yes 22 years!) since Tommy Lee Jones and
Will Smith kicked off our summer movie season by introducing us to the world of
Men In Black, and their mission to protect the Earth from the intergalactic
scum of the universe. Today, it’s Chris
Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson turn in this, the fourth film in the
franchise. This time around our intrepid
MIB agents simultaneously narrow and expand the agency’s scope by taking things
international as they search for a mole within the organization.
Sounds like a pretty good storyline. And it is.
Unfortunately, writers Matt Holloway, Art Marcum, and Lowell Cunningham
didn’t bother going beyond the “idea” for a storyline. Instead of a fully fleshed out script,
complete with story/character arcs/development Men in Black International comes
across as a first or second pass outline against the background of a couple of
key plot points. In other words, MiBI
is all sizzle, no steak.
The first half hour or so just lays there as what serves as
the film’s setup plays out. They’ve
managed to strike the very unusual balance of the movie dragging (as you wait
for something to happen) and flying by too fast (actually give us some details
about the who, what, where, when, and why instead of glossing over them). The lack of character development leaves you
watching “pretty people” you don’t care about or have any vested interested in
(beyond eye candy), doing stuff for some vague reason, and lots of cool gadgets
and tech. Results? A standard franchise
sequel that looks to cash in on its predecessor(s) success/nostalgia instead of
truly developing, expanding, and elevating both the film in general and the franchise
as a whole.
Even with that being the case, I gotta say, I enjoyed MiBI
a helluva lot more than Dark Phoenix.
Hemsworth and Thompson do the best they can, but as
mentioned previously, without anything for them to sink their teeth into the film
just lays there. Especially between
action sequences. The chemistry between
them just isn’t there and the dialogue feels stiff and awkward to forced. Not much for Thor/Valkyrie moments here. Too bad. As for Liam Neeson and Emma Thompson
they aren’t given much of an opportunity to have an impact on the film. They’re largely reduced to bookends this go
around.
The sparseness of the plot also serves to make the film’s “twists”
less than twisty with their predictability.
Even having missed out on my nap, I’d figured out who the mole is as
well as a couple other key points within the first ten to fifteen minutes. I’d
probably would’ve figured them out sooner if I wasn’t so tired.
So, is Men in Black International a complete dud? Complete?
No.
I’d say MiBI is standard big budget, Hollywood
fare.
Not great, but not bad. Mindless, easily digestible entertainment
wrapped heavily in CGI goodness. Not as
humorous as expected, but one true gem is in Kumail Nanjiani’s voiceover work
as Pawny. This summers’ equivalent of
baby Groot (with a more extensive vocabulary).
Pawny’s adorable as all get out (yes, I want one). Sassy and funny as hell, he makes the movie
for me.
Was I disappointed with Men in Black International?
That’s a definite yes. The film has the
potential to being so much more, but it feels like no one really wanted to put much
effort into the endeavor. Was I sorry I
went? No, it was a couple of hours of air-conditioned comfort, looking at Chris
Hemsworth, hanging out with my sister and niece (hi guys!). I had fun and, on that front, MiBI was
a winner for me. Do I recommend you rush
to the theater to check it out? Since I
wasn’t neuralized to think otherwise… Nope.
This is a Redbox, stream, premium channel kinda film that gives you
something to look at when there’s nothing else on. It’s a 5 from me.
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