The sequel nobody asked for.

Rating: 7/10 (28 May 2012)

Agents J and K are back...in time. J has seen some inexplicable things in his 15 years with the Men in Black, but nothing, not even aliens, perplexes him as much as his wry, reticent partner. But when K's life and the fate of the planet are put at stake, Agent J will have to travel back in time to put things right. J discovers that there are secrets to the universe that K never told him -- secrets that will reveal themselves as he teams up with the young Agent K to save his partner, the agency, and the future of humankind. (Columbia Pictures)
It seemed that MIB3 was going to be all kinds of horrible. All signs pointed to it: The troubles during production (I believe Will Smith had problems on set, and the script wasn't finished when they began shooting), the horrible mess that was MIB2, the bland trailer, the lack of creativity going into the posters, having a sequel nobody asked for being released 10 years later, etc. Imagine my surprise when I had a huge smile on my stupid face when the credits rolled!
The key to the film's success is Will Smith and Josh Brolin effectively playing off one another. Brolin, in particular, gives such a fantastic performance that you think Tommy Lee Jones might have had his voice dubbed over Brolin's. Seriously, Brolin looks and feels like a younger Tommy Lee Jones, and it's not an impersonation. It's a performance. The rapport between Smith and Brolin is more entertaining than any amount of explosions would ever do for the film, and it's a good thing that their relationship IS the film. Unfortunately, Tommy Lee Jones isn't in the film that much, but he was good for how long he was in it. I would also like to praise Michael Stuhlbarg, who plays such a fascinating character called Griffin, and he is able to hold it on his own with Smith and Brolin. I also liked Jemaine Clement as the villain, who is virtually unrecognizable under the heavy amount of make-up effects by the great Rick Baker. I consider him to be my favorite villain in the series.
When you take a look at the good sequels throughout the past few years (Spider-Man 2, The Dark Knight, Kung-Fu Panda 2, Toy Story 3, etc.), you see that they don't try to outdo their previous films. Their success lies in their characters and expanding their emotional arcs. At times, too many summer films focus too much on the special effects and action scenes while adding too many characters and too many subplots. MIB3, however, focuses on the characters, while the action and effects stay in the background. Sure, the action and effects are good, but what makes the film good is the way it humanizes Agents J and especially K and the way it gives them an emotional pathos. Of course, nobody would ever expect that from MIB3, which makes its payoff have more of a profound effect than anyone would have ever dreamed of.
One would argue that the unexpected critical success of MIB3 has more to do with the very low expectations from people after several years and less to do with its actual quality. I'm here to say it isn't that. MIB3 is a genuinely good film. Is it an amazing film? No. While MIB3 won't go in my top 10 of 2012, it's a damn good sequel nobody ever expected to be any good after MIB2. Despite the troubles during production, MIB3 somehow gets it right. Sure, there are big plot holes in the script dealing with time travel, but it's a rare threequel that actually doesn't suck. Indeed, it's a miracle. In my opinion, it's the best film in the series.