Funny and enjoyable with great makeup effects, Brolin is superb

Rating: 8/10 (26 May 2012)

Men in Black 3 is the second sequel to 1997's Men in Black. Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones return as Agents J and K with Josh Brolin playing a young K, Jemaine Clement as vengeful villain Boris the Animal, Emma Thompson as Agent O, head of the MIB agency and Michael Stuhlbarg as Griffin, an alien with precognitive powers. Barry Sonnenfeld and Steven Spielberg return as director and executive producer respectively, with the amazing Danny Elfman returning as the scorer. Behind John Williams and Hans Zimmer, Danny Elfman is the third best film composer ever in my opinion. It has been ten years since Men in Black 2, the previous instalment.
Alien Boris the Animal, who K apprehended back in 1969, escapes from a high security prison on the moon and vows revenge on K by going back in time and killing young K. On Earth, in present day, J wakes up to find that no-one knows who K is, he was apparently killed in the 1969 Boris incident at Cape Canaveral. He too travels back in time to save K and kill Boris before he could be imprisoned.
Will Smith returns to acting after a four year break, and he does his usual Will Smith-isms. Tommy Lee also plays his jaded, old, craggy self, with Josh Brolin acting so much like Tommy Lee that had I known better I would have thought it was Tommy Lee Jones with younger makeup. Talking of makeup, Rick Baker's makeup is spectacular. Despite the movie's budget being the first and second film's combined, the aliens are mostly makeup, and it is all great, nice to see a change from the endless flow of CGI that infests Hollywood. The film has some funny moments and some cool action, as well as a side character, Griffin the alien who reminded me of a young Robin Williams. It feels a little dull and original in the first twenty minutes, but the film really picks up after the time travel. Overall, a fun, exciting sci-fi comedy with great effects and a superb Tommy Lee portrayal by Brolin.