Pictures of Matchstick Men

Rating: 5/10 (2 June 2012)

Greetings again from the darkness. Uninspired sequels often prove quite annoying for a true movie fan. However, dedicated followers of a franchise often overlook the flaws and are just happy to see their familiar heroes back on screen. Back for a third time in 15 years, Agents J (Will Smith) and K (Tommy Lee Jones) show they can do this in their sleep ... Mr. Jones may have actually dozed off a couple of times.
Fortunately there are a couple of things that make this one entertaining enough. Josh Brolin's spot on imitation of Tommy Lee Jones may be better than the real thing. Brolin seems to be enjoying himself and realizes he is the featured attraction here. There is also a very creative segment that takes place at Andy Warhol's Factory ... with Bill Hader pulling off the Warhol look and voice quite well.
Obviously with the Warhol segment, time travel is involved. That's the real disappointment here. Outside of the Apollo 11 segment and listening to Status Quo play "Pictures of Matchstick Men", the trip to 1969 is really a wasted opportunity for plot and humor. Also scarce is the use of aliens that were so prevalent in the first two. This time around, we get an overdose of Boris the Animal played by the always interesting Jemaine Clement (Flight of the Conchords).
Also back is Emma Thompson in a couple of brief scenes as Agent O. In addition to Brolin, we get new life from Alice Eve (a young Agen O) and Michael Stuhlbarg as Griffin ... a less annoying version of Joe Pesci from the Lethal Weapon series. Director Barry Sonnenfeld has stuck with this franchise for all three entries. Let's hope it's now allowed to rest in peace.