Men In Black International (2019)

I've never really enjoyed the Men In Black movies. They play mostly to the jokes so despite any interest I might have had in the premise, the films were always just too silly for me to get into. Their plots were always straight forward and pedantic, characterization thin, mythology weak. MIB International doesn't do anything different. It really feels like just another installment with a cheaper cast. There isn't much in MIB International different or more interesting than previous MIB films. I'm truly of the belief that a sequel needs a reason to be made, a new story to tell or new approaches, and not just do more of the same. More of the same bores me.

But I went in hopeful. Tessa Thompson has the potential to be a big magnetic star. She has a great screen presence and I usually find her quite compelling. Chris Hemsworth has yet to get a role that isn't just about joking on his looks and this one is no different. But Thompson is exciting to watch. So I thought seeing her lead this film could be truly entertaining.

Well she's mostly wasted. Her induction into the order is completely unbelievable, rushed, and fairly ridiculous. They don't spend time making either of the main characters into anything more than two-dimensional stereotypes. It fits with the story however, which is also rather predictable and two-dimensional. It's not bad per se, just not inspiring or different or interesting. It's exactly what any other movie like this would be. MIB has always had the potential to comment on immigration and it's never done this more than just a surface referencing. MIB is, as it always has been, mainstream accessible filler. And that's not terrible. Perhaps if it was exceedingly funny or with a remarkably compelling story it would rise to the occasion. But it is exceedingly average.

MIB International feels like the sort of film that is rushed and is almost more of a second thought. Is it too much to ask that the story idea comes first? The desire to make a movie derives out of a need to tell a particular story and follow particular characters? Instead it seems we just focus on taking a brand and then constructing something to fit it. There are plenty of franchises where the creators take a prepackaged idea, character, or world and make something remarkable out of it. MIB was never that so I guess International should not be a surprise. I guess Thompson (both of them... and Nanjiani too) gave me hope this might be a smarter more relevant take on the MIB trope.

Men In Black International
Starring: Tessa Thompson, Chris Hemsworth, Kumail Nanjiani, Emma Thompson, Rebecca Ferguson, Rafe Spall, Liam Neeson
Director: F Gary Gray
Writers: Art Marcum, Matt Holloway