Truth be told – I never thought I’d enjoy another Men in Black movie after the disastrous let-down Men in Black II. The previews for Men in Black 3 have made it look just as miserable and un-fun as the second – but it shouldn’t. MIB3 not only brings back the laughs and the fun from the original, but it features the most elaborate story of the franchise yet.
In 1969, Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) stopped the nearly-unstoppable alien Boris (Jemaine Clement) from unraveling a plan that would allow the alien take-over of Earth. In the process, Boris lost and arm and ultimately ended up in one of the most secure prisons in the universe. Due to his failure, his race went extinct. Now, in 2012, an angry one-armed Boris has escaped from lock-down and all he’s looking for is revenge.
When Boris finds a way to jump back in time to 1969, he kills K and alters reality. The only person who notices the reality shift is K’s partner, J (Will Smith). Although this plot hole is never explained, you will quickly forget about it due to the amount of fun that follows. J also jumps back to 1969 in an attempt to stop the Boris’ (mind you, there are now two of him in ’69), save K and return the alternate reality to its should-be state – not unlike Marty McFly in Back to the Future II.
Featuring time travel, the story of MIB3 is easily the most complex of the three. Even then, it never loses sight of the fun. It constantly makes you laugh, keeping you wowed by great effects and action and leaving its future completely unpredictable. Josh Brolin plays the ’69 version of K and his impression is 100 percent spot-on with that of Jones. Great cameos abound (some of which you have to be paying close attention to in order to see) and a fantastic new character played by Michael Stahlbarg is introduced.
I promise you that whatever preconception you may have of Men in Black 3, it’s going to be much better than you think. I didn’t expect to like it at all and walked away calling it the best Men in Black movie yet.
Photo Credit: Sony Pictures
