Better Than Average Bear
Straight-up entertaining sequel that manages to mostly find the right balance between paying tribute to the original and crafting its own offbeat vibe.
The fourth film in the Men in Black franchise had a strange journey to the screen. A few years ago, Sony was hacked and it was revealed that a crossover between MIB and the 21 Jump Street franchise was planned. While that was scrapped, the Thor: Ragnarok duo of Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson slip into the black suits for a global outing.
Atop the Eiffel Tower in 2016, Agents H (Chris Hemsworth) and T (Liam Neeson) fight off the Hive to save the world. 20 years earlier, young Molly witnesses an incident that will lead her to obsessive pursue recruitment by the MIB as an adult (Tessa Thomspon). She achieves her goal, but the H she encounters is a cocky shell of his former self.
MEN IN BLACK INTERNATIONAL doesn’t stray too far from the formula, pairing a rookie with a veteran to uncover a hidden secret within MIB itself. Screenwriters Art Marcum and Matt Holloway (best known for Iron Man and Transformers: The Last Knight) are interested in the chaos of the franchise, pinging from London, to Marrakesh, Naples, and back to Paris.
Undoubtedly one of the biggest appeals of this chapter is the wonderful team-up of Hemsworth and Thompson, fresh from being Asgardians of the galaxy in the MCU. At the film’s best, the self-aware verbal sparring and mismatched buddy comedy works well. The addition of a small digital friend in Pawny (voiced by Kumail Nanjiani) adds a fun dynamic, although the character won’t be for all tastes.
On the other hand, there isn’t a villain as strong as Vincent D’Onofrio’s cockroach in the first film, which is perhaps the weakest link in the movie. There’s the element changing Twins (played by French performers Laurent and Larry Bourgeois a.k.a. Les Twins), who silently rip up cities and send the heroes running. When the overarching villain is revealed late in the third act, it should come as no surprise to anybody who has seen a film in the last few decades. (Hint: just look at the cast list).
Where MIB continues to shine is in the effect department, building on the canonical aesthetic and updating the future tech for modern palates. The Twins have some neat effects of morphing the environment around them, although no effect seems to have been able to deal with a poor choice in wigs for Rebecca Ferguson.
While MEN IN BLACK INTERNATIONAL may not be as fresh or engaging as the original, it has enough consistently fun moments to tip it over the rankings past Men in Black 3. The denouement wraps things up a little too neatly but paves the way for a sequel, and despite any minor quibbles with the formula, it would still be great to see this team back in black.
2019 | US | DIR: F. Gary Gray | WRITER: Art Marcum and Matt Holloway | CAST: Chris Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson, Rebecca Ferguson, Kumail Nanjiani, Rafe Spall, Laurent Bourgeois, Larry Bourgeois, Emma Thompson, Liam Neeson | DISTRIBUTOR: Sony Pictures Releasing (AUS) | RUNNING TIME: 115 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 13 June 2019 (AUS)
