Thursday, June 13, 2019

Men in Black: International Movie Review

Tessa Thompson & Chris Hemsworth (r) star in Men in Black: International

Wrong Time, Wrong Place

Rotten Tomatoes Plot: The Men in Black have always protected the Earth from the scum of the universe. In this new adventure, they tackle their biggest, most global threat to date: a mole in the Men in Black organization.


Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson, Rebecca Ferguson, Kumail Nanjiani, Rafe Spall, Liam Neeson and the Les Twins (in their debut acting roles), along with Emma Thompson

What's Good: Pawny (voiced by Nanjiani) steals what little show there is. Otherwise, nada.

What's Not: This isn't so much a sequel/spin-off, as it is a chemistry-free, (potential) rom-com with zero cool. The latter was knee-deep in it, thanks to Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones and Rip Torn. Hemsworth and Thompson? Two nice people, who never seem to click. And don't get me started with throw-ins Neeson & Thompson, or the utterly miscast Rebecca Ferguson as an alien badass with extra arms and a bad wig. Cheap special effects, laughable bad guys and a story we've seen & heard a thousand times before.

Budget: $110 million

Runtime: 115 minutes (Feels longer.)

Target Audience: People who never saw Men in Black, Men in Black II and (to a lesser degree) Men in Black 3.

Bottom Line: Was anyone actually clamoring for another MIB, especially without Will Smith? I highly doubt it, but the first three films made a lot of money, so... here we are. Boring and comparatively childish, it still won over parts of our screening audience, who laughed out loud on more than one occasion. As Hemsworth's Agent H says, "Sometimes the universe gets it wrong." Amen brother.

Grade: D (Dozed off twice.)