Men in Black: International

Men in Black: International tries to bring back the series by injecting Marvel humor and James Bond set pieces, so it at least is a fun summer film. Do these new elements elevate the story to equal its predecessor? No, but F. Gary Gray’s direction brings back the world of Barry Sonnenfield’s films.

The characters, apart from the performances of the star-studded cast, are very one-dimensional. Especially the villains. There is not much to talk about when it comes to the villains. There are a few red herrings that fail miserably to misdirect the audience, and the film spends so much time on these red herrings that it immediately shows its cards to the audience. The real villain is predictable from the beginning, but the film thinks the audience will not find out until the end, so there is no development of the villain’s character.

Chris Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson, and Kumail Nanjiani are all fantastic with their constant banter, but their characters have little to no development. There are fragments of their arcs that are not expanded upon in order to show more action scenes. Tessa Thompson walks throughout the film as a backpacking sidekick, even before meeting Chris Hemsworth, which contrasts with the whole idea of making her seem independent and strong. Even in the scenes where she tries to take control of the situation, Chris Hemsworth is the one that does all the talking, fighting, and driving.

The story as a whole is very disconnected and simple, but it still has a lot of fun elements. There is a whole detour from the main plot where the characters go to an island straight out of a James Bond film, where the attractive british agent is trying to intercept a super weapon to save the world. Once this scene is over, all of those conflicts are resolved and dropped instantly. The film after the island conflict is a completely different story. There are three subplots that allude to its own villain, interweaving between each other instead of having a central arc, creating superficial events where only few moments actually build up to the ending.

Being the first Men In Black film made from a different director, F. Gary Gray did a decent job at pulling me into the world. Instead of shoe-horning annoying references like C-3PO in Rogue One, Gray mainly focuses on expanding the world of Men in Black. I enjoyed the set pieces and technology on the screen, but it felt mainly empty. The whole goal of the main character is to find the truth, to experience what is behind the wonder of the universe. I never felt that “wonder” for a second in the film. The new director managed to bring back the story world, but failed to bring out the flare and energy of the original.

Overall, I am at a loss as to why this film is being slammed by critics. Many of their reviews continually bashed it as if this was the most hyped film of the summer, when in reality it was anything but. It is a perfectly fine film. The alien design and gadgets are well created and unique; the characters are what they need to be; and the story has some fun moments that distract from the very predictable twist villain. The actors heighten the quality of the characters, and the direction does a great job at recreating the atmosphere of the original film. The story and its characters are the base level, solely written for a serviceable product to gain profit, but at least it is entertaining.

Story Rating: 5/10

Character Rating: 5/10