I am very interested to know who wanted this movie, I mean I understand that their is a certain fondness for the original but the sequel tanked and was shredded by critics and audiences alike. Now 10 years later and after a long winding and bumpy production we have MiB 3, and its about 15 years too late. The jokes are dated the formula predictable and the actors are clearly not as invested as they were in their first outing. But thankfully MiB 3 does provide a nostalgic throwback as well as a heartfelt twist on the series as a whole.
Time travel is the conceit this time around and after a fun villain intro and a look at a typical day in the life of Agent K & J the story quickly sets up some plot hole ridden excuse to set the movie in 1969. Along the way though we are treated to a patch-worked overly conveinant story that has two count them TWO saving graces. Josh Brolin as young K is a revelation his impersonation is spot on and he seems to be the only one who is enjoying himself. Tommy Lee Jones is dependable as always but he seems extra "I'm just here for a paycheck". Will Smith who is always eminently watchable even in his worst films is simply going through the motions trying futilely to recapture that slick cocky attitude he displayed in all his movies in the 90's and has since moved away from. The last gem in this movie is Michael Stuhlberg as Griffin a 5th dimensional being who can see all possible universes at once, his performance is that of the quirky tag-along sidekick and the scenes he is in are easily the most fun and interesting. He gives a one note role such life I walked out thinking he should get his own movie.
The movies real problem is the script which feels patched together from random ideas that clearly didn't originate from one seamless cognitive thought. The stop-n-go production clearly effected this movie as scenes flow oddly jumping from location to set piece with no real sense of rhythm; chase scenes are over as soon as they begin, nothing is earned everything conveniently falls in the laps of our heroes making them seem incompetent as if they couldn't get anything done without the script explicitly giving them what they needed. But the biggest failing of this movie is the complete lack of any humor, that's not to say MiB 3 all of a sudden became a dark introspective drama it just isn't funny like... at all. In fact it is painfully unfunny with every joke sucking the fun and joy out of the film like some horrible deep space vacuum. Will Smith uttering the phrase "shiznit" was so outdated and unfunny the entire audience, no exaggeration, let out an audible groan. Whoever wrote this film needs to step away from comedy forever, every single thing that is supposed to instill laughter is eye-rolling and simply falls flat.
MiB 3 is really unfortunate; its unfunny and the whole production just seems 15 years to late. The first movie should have been the last we saw of this franchise. This movie is a marked improvement over the abysmal second film but its infamous production setbacks cost this movie whatever semblance of good-natured fun it might have otherwise had. Two worthwhile performances and a sentimental ending that gives a whole new perspective on the series are the only saving graces of this film. Rent it if your feeling nostalgic but know going in this is not the MiB so many people fell in love with more than a decade ago.
(2 out of 5)
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