Back in Style

Rating: 8/10 (28 May 2012)

It's been nearly 4 years since Will Smith appeared on the big screen and an even longer time since the last Men In Black sequel (2002 if memory serves me right) but here they are, back in style.
While it may have been some time since Will Smith's acted in an action film (where he should stay, in my opinion), he proves that he's still got it in the third part of the memorable MIB franchise. He pulls off the wise-ass Agent J perfectly (just like old times) and he didn't fail to amuse me over the course of the film's running time. The whole cast did their parts well (especially Boris) but it was Josh Brolin who surprised me; the man was the spitting image of a younger Tommy Lee Jones. He pulled it off so well I honestly thought there had to be some sort of CGI magic or dubbing done but no, it was all Brolin and he pulled off a younger Agent K good. My only problem was that Tommy Lee Jones, who's as important to the franchise as Will Smith is, barely got enough screen time. Yes, it's part of the story that J meets a younger K and yes, Tommy Lee Jones is getting a bit too old for these kinds of movies but I just miss seeing him alongside Will Smith for an entire MIB movie. This however, does little to hinder the film's enjoyment factor.
The story is well written. Time travel is one of the more complicated story devices to use since if messed up, plot holes will appear everywhere. Thankfully, the movie writers took their time (10 years is no joke for both fans and producers), edited the crap out of their drafts and ended up with a good time travel movie along with a nice surprise ending. As usual, the comedic banter between mostly everybody and Agent J was done well but everybody gets to say something witty that isn't out of place in the story's setting. What really got me was the emotional factor that was added into the leads' partnership. Sure, we've seen them fight aliens and save the world in the past two movies but it's only now their partnership has become this emotional. Part 3 of the MIB series returns to the series roots and uses what made part 1 so great in the first place; a healthy balance of action, sci-fi, comedy and emotional content.
The CGI, to some, would look outdated (and to some extent it is) but this wasn't a problem for me. Instead, what the CGI did was usher in a feeling of nostalgia since it really looks like something from the late 90's when movies were just starting to incorporate computer graphics. Though for an MIB movie, there were surprisingly few aliens but that's just a minor problem. I guess that this time around, the story was really centered on the two main characters and not so much on what makes the universe so weird and cool (though I do miss the talking dog). Again, I dodged the 3D screening so I can't say anything about the 3D version.
MIB3 is a good watch; it returns to the series' roots and not only succeeds in making a movie so reminiscent of what made the 90's action films so great (balanced comedy, action and drama... and no fancy camera tricks like "shaky cam") but also threw in a new dynamic between the two main characters. I'm not sure if this will usher in a part four (and part 3 feels a bit like a series finale to me but that's just my opinion) but if it does, I hope the writers, again, take their time in perfecting the script since even if part 3 took an entire decade of waiting, it was well worth the wait.