Men in Black: International (Review)
Men in Black: International Should Have Stayed in the States.
At first glance, Men in Black: International looks like it should knock it out of the park. It features a director who has done solid work overall with a few gems scattered in there (including Friday and Straight Outta Compton). The writers have helped pen scripts for one of the best movies in the MCU, Iron Man. Just for good measure, it even includes two of the most beautiful actors working in Hollywood who have proven they have electric chemistry together in the past. So, the real question is how could Men in Black: International waste everything it had going for it?
Men in Black: International does exactly what the title promises. It takes the Men in Black franchise and moves it across the Atlantic to show how the alien enforcement agency fairs in other countries. Because of that, there really aren’t a ton of references to the previous films and instead follows two new characters played by Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson on a globe-trotting adventure against a new alien threat that could destroy the world as we know it. In a lot of ways, it feels like Men in Black: International follows a checklist of elements and themes that the original movies provided, and while it might check every box it, it can’t seem to capture the spirit of the original.
While Men in Black: International isn’t a sequel it still does its best to pay tribute to the original Men in Black trilogy. I certainly won’t argue that the first film is one of the best sci-fi comedies of all time, but nostalgia is a hell of a thing, so I’ll remind you that the sequels, well, they kinda sucked. Because of that, Men in Black: International didn’t really have a lot to live up to when it comes to the original trilogy as a whole. However, if you were to compare it to the first film in the series, then you’re going to be sorely disappointed. The reason being is that Men in Black: International messes up a crucial component when it comes to buddy cop movies, and that is you always need a straight man in the partnership. There’s no denying that there isn’t a ton of chemistry between Thompson and Hemsworth or that they’re both hilarious (just check out Thor: Ragnarok for proof), but that’s the problem. They both crack jokes and neither one seems to be taking things very seriously, which undermines the gravity of every situation they end up facing together.
As I mentioned, Thompson and Hemsworth are pretty fantastic in everything they do. However, their charm only goes so far when they have such weak characters to work with. Hemsworth’s Agent H is a former highly decorated agent who has hit a slump recently due to his reckless and arrogant attitude (and possibly one too many alien STDs). Thompson’ Agent M, on the other hand, is the rookie agent eager to prove that she deserves her place in the MIB. They seem like they could be a well-suited match on paper, but writers Matt Holloway and Art Marcum are incredibly inconsistent when it comes to these characters. Both are willing to simply ignore rules, procedure, and common sense which makes them feel less like a partnership and more like one character split in half. Of course, I still enjoyed watching the two of them working together, but it wasn’t nearly as satisfying as their last outing together. However, Kumail Nanjiani steals the show as a wisecracking miniature warrior alien that turns their partnership into a trio. I dare say that he is actually the best part of Men in Black: International.
Men in Black: International might technically be a globe-spanning adventure with the characters visiting such places as London, Marrakesh, Naples, and Paris, it doesn’t feel like much of an adventure overall. It features a ton of alien creatures, a world-ending threat, and one of the most powerful weapons in the universe, but it never manages to get your blood pumping. In fact, the whole thing is incredibly anti-climactic overall. Director F. Gary Gray never manages to raise the stakes even as the two agents go rogue and have to flee from the MIB in order to accomplish their mission. In fact, it seems like he was in a rush to get the movie over with by the end of it and the final showdown between the forces of good and the forces of evil is incredibly disappointing. Men in Black: International just doesn’t have the emotional substance to give it any narrative weight and by the end of it I found myself not really caring what happens to the characters.
I’m disappointed, to say the least, in Men in Black: International. I was such a huge fan of the first movie as a kid and I was desperately hoping this new movie would capture some of the magic it had. Instead, I found Men in Black: International to be a lazy movie that expects to simply get a passing grade thanks to all the elements it manages to throw together. After all, it’s got beautiful locations, beautiful stars, cool CGI, and some neat gadgets. However, it never tries to be greater than the sum of its parts and I couldn’t help but feel insulted by the lack of effort. The first Men in Black was a memorable piece of movie magic, while this is just more of the same.
