Three's a charm

Rating: 6/10 (27 May 2012)

Last seen in "Seven Pounds", Will Smith is back after a hiatus of quality time with the family; time that he has clearly put to good use considering the projects he has lined up over the next few years. Also returning is MIB series (now a franchise) director Barry Sonnenfeld , who, given the flaws of the sequel, has evidently jump-started the MIB saga with this third outing. Together, Smith and Sonnenfeld work their magic, but the true measure of fresh blood comes from the unlikely inclusion of a new character, without which MIB 3 would have been on an outer-space trajectory into oblivion.
Now a veteran, senior Agent J (Smith) and his partner Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) continue to lookout for illegal aliens and extraterrestrial threats to Earth. Their investigations lead them onto a trail left by 'Boris the animal' a dangerous alien K imprisoned 40 years ago. Now finding that K no longer exists, J learns that his partner has been murdered in the past, so travels back to 1969 to prevent Boris from killing K and altering history as we know it.
Going into this third outing, I wasn't very hopeful that Smith, nor Jones, would have any space juice left to revive the interest of Will Smith fans or sci-fi fans. Bringing Josh Brolin into the series changes all that. As the younger K, Brolin adds a much needed tenacity to this third part while ensuring his character remains vital to the story. The real crowd puller is his unbelievable likeness in personality to that of Jones, in that you can be mistaken for thinking his dialogue is voiced by Jones himself. While the first half hour of the movie appears to be treading the beaten path of the previous film, it all changes for the better once J time-jumps to the past and is heavily aided with Brolin stepping in as the younger K. This is further tweaked with Etan Cohen's screenplay, rife with ample comic moments that seem tailor made for Smith and Brolin. In comparison, Brolin comes up with some funny lines while Smith is tasked with adding depth and heart − resulting in a clever and overwhelming twist where the premise is the destructive nature of secrets. Other plot aiding roles come from Michael Stuhlbarg as a clairvoyant alien called Griffin and Jemaine Clement as Boris – the darkest alien villain in the series so far. Emma Thompson as Agent O does not add much to the story, nor is her inclusion to the film remarkable, except suggesting that O and K may have had a close working relationship.
Overall, Sonnenfeld vindicates the need for a third part by putting together a good story, juxtaposition-ed with laughs and cliff-hangers. However, considering the strong sci-fi flavor this year, MIB 3 suffices as pure entertainment for the masses and is unlikely to resurrect a cult following; at least not the type stirred by "Back to the Future". As reported, it may be another 3-4 years before Will Smith fans see him spurt out a few wisecracks. In the interim, "Men in Black III" is a decent choice if you want to experience a lighthearted sci-fi movie that does not require too much concentration.