Movie Review: Men in Black 3

I managed to see Men in Black 3 on opening night, even in the middle of my con schedule. That’s dedication to movies, folks. Look at what I do for you?

I’ll be honest. (As always) This wasn’t a movie I was too jazzed to see. The first one was good fun. The second one had some big flaws, and that was years ago. What were the odds that a third one–so much later than the last–would be halfway decent?

This has “bomb” written all over it, and I hadn’t heard much in the way of good buzz to make me think otherwise. So my expectations were quite low. It shouldn’t be a surprise that the film exceeded them.

What should be a surprise is that’s it’s actually a really fun, well-done movie. It’s got its share of plot holes, sure, but it’s a great summer movie.

Smith goes back in time to save the life of Tommy Lee Jones, played in the past by Josh Brolin (who is downright uncanny in the role). The movie is consistently funny, with Smith churning out his one liners one after another. The action scenes crackle. The acting is all solid. The effects are a ton of fun, too. Really well done.

Not to like? Some of the plot twists are a bit much. I also felt like they could have done more with the Will Smith in 1969 set up. They do a few token stabs, but that’s about it–and that could have been a real highlight of the movie, I thought.

But really, with a sequel to a sequel, you shouldn’t be expecting the next Casablanca. It focuses on doing with the MiB movies did before: being a fun alien romp. It’s well worth the price of admission, and seeing it on the big screen would be much more fun than on a small screen at home.

Three stars. Give it a whirl.