Review: Men In Black: International (2019)
Official Synopsis:
The Men in Black have expanded to cover the globe but so have the villains of the universe. To keep everyone safe, decorated Agent H and determined rookie M join forces -- an unlikely pairing that just might work. When aliens that can take the form of any human arrive on Earth, H and M embark on a globe-trotting adventure to save the agency -- and ultimately the world -- from their mischievous plans.
Men in Black: International expands upon the universe created in the first three films and now explores the agency as an international network. I had really enjoyed the previous MIB films starring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones. Although the first and third were easily my favorites, they were all pretty entertaining. Unfortunately, this movie marks a strong departure from previous films which made this franchise so successful. It is a painfully boring movie. Even though Hemsworth and Thompson are charismatic and have good chemistry on screen, their characters felt really one-dimensional and not very likable. Tessa Thompson plays Agent M who is a probationary agent looking to establish and prove herself within the MIB. Even though her motivations are admirable, her story and background are pretty boring. Even though she is supposed to be a unconventional recruit for the MIB, her journey feels entirely too predictable and ordinary. When compared to Will Smith's Agent J's fish out of water training session on-the-fly experience, this new approach actually felt so much more lacking. Hemsworth's Agent H is just cocky and slightly scatter-brained. Neither is terribly interesting on their own and when put together with a lackluster story the result is really a mess. Like other MIB movies, they have tried to incorporate a "clever" twist at the end but none of that seems to make a difference. The action scenes are pretty decent but its not enough to pull this film out of the twisting nether. This is the perfect film for watching on a long flight when you need to drown out the noise of the cabin whilst getting some rest. If that was the goal then perhaps this installment is somewhat deserving of its international title.
Our Rating:
Swin: 3/10 - Please neuralyze me.
Directed by: F. Gary Gray
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson, Rebecca Ferguson, Kumail Nanjiani, Rafe Spall, Laurent Bourgeois, Larry Bourgeois, Emma Thompson, Liam Neeson
MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for sci-fi action, some language and suggestive material.
Runtime: 114 min