Men In Black 3 (2012)

Men In Black 3
Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld

Credit: Columbia Pictures

As much as I love time travel movies, I am equally skeptical of sequels that are released after extended periods of time. Men In Black 2 was released in 2002 and I didn’t care for it at all, so it’s been a long time since the first movie was in theaters in the late 90’s. Agent J (Will Smith) even says he’s been a “Man In Black” for fourteen years, which was almost how old I was when I saw the first movie! I always try to view movies with an open mind so I was willing to give MIB 3 a chance. I’m very glad I did see MIB 3 while it was in theaters but this is the first time I’ve ever said these words: “I wish I had watched it in 3D.” The special effects were so well done this time around, unlike 2002’s poor effects, that I feel 3D would truly enhance this movie. For instance J needs to jump off a building to “jump back” in time, and things fly past him during his freefall. Even a later sequence where the MIB agents are jumping around (and falling off) a space shuttle launch tower is excellently crafted.

As for the time traveling itself, those stories are always tricky to pull off because of the implications from time traveling. If you go back and interact with others, you’re likely to alter your future for better or worse. MIB 3 might be one of the best instances of time-traveling in a movie and I wonder if they actually created the ending first, then worked their way backwards from that. It works here because it’s not just a fun gimmick, we actually find out more about the relationship between J and K.

Will Smith returns as J but this time K is played by Josh Brolin for the bulk of the movie. I disliked his awful Billy Bob Thornton (from Sling Blade) impression in Jonah Hex, so I was skeptical about how he would handle Tommy Le Jones. Brolin does an outstanding job as K, while also adding his own traits to the character. That isn’t the only impression in MIB 3 because I swear the villain is Tim Curry. The look and sound is uncanny!

My favorite moments in MIB 3, other than a scene at the end, were the times when J uses his Neutralizer to wipe people’s memories and he tells them the dangers of using a cellphone on a plane and what happens when you flush your fish. MIB 3 does the impossible for a sequel and meets (and possibly beats) the original.