MOVIE REVIEW: "Men In Black 3"

14 years after our first encounter with them, the Men in Black are back! Sure, the sequel was not that good and difficult considering the massive success the original film was able to bring, but doesn't hurt to try again... does it?? Three time MAY be the charm, or should we just bust out the Neurolizer and forget all about this movie? Well... let's find out!

 Director Barry Sonnenfeld and stars Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones (Agents J and K) return for one more adventure. Agent J must time travel to 1969 to save a young Agent K (played by Josh Brolin) from the evil alien Boris The Animal (Jemaine Clement from Flight of the Conchords), his long-time nemesis who wants revenge. Along the way, the duo meet some familiar faces, new creatures, and all while forming a tighter bond for the two agents. That's the plot, simple as that. Rumors are that there were plenty of rewrites, even as they were filming, changing things on the fly. It feels that way at times, as some of the heart and fun from the original is lacking at times. Not to say this isn't fun though. It has its moments and yes, it does have a bit of heart. Let's dig deeper...

Josh Brolin made this movie worth the watch as young K. Acting and sounding like Tommy Lee Jones, Brolin really pulls it off and makes this character his own with some little tweaks. Young K is just as serious as older K, but his feelings show a little more now, especially when it comes to the young Agent O, played by the beautiful but underused Alice Eve. Also underused is the current Agent O, played by Emma Thompson, who has one moment of note... but then disappears into oblivion. 

Jemaine Clement as Boris makes for an interesting villain, being creepy (thanks to Rick Baker for a great makeup job) and quite the menace and yes, maaaaybe even a little funny! If you know his work from Flight of the Conchords and love it, you're going to enjoy seeing him here. Also, it's worth noting Bill Hader as Andy Warhol and Griffin, played by "Boardwalk Empire's" Michael Stuhlbarg, who brings the most heart to this film. 

Complaints? Most of the jokes fall flat here, the writing gets really bad at times with plot holes aplenty, and this one moment, meant to be heartfelt... it just felt tacked on and cheesy. It's not a bad movie, though, but it's just not a great one. It definitely needed more bizarre creatures and weird moments, more... fun... to really make this movie great. Oh, and I saw this in 3D and it was not worth the extra bucks AT ALL. The time travel scenes made some use of the 3D effects, but other than that, nothing. So is the film itself worth a watch? Sure, why not? It was an OK way to pass the time, but I almost want to say it's more of a rental. At least if this is the last MIB movie we ever get, it's good they ended it this way. Er, minus the song during the credits. Ugh, that Pitbull...

5/10