Film Review: Men in Black 3

Men in Black 3. Rated M (science fiction violence). 106 minutes. Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld. Screenplay by Etan Cohen.

Verdict: This very welcome return to form for the Men in Black team works on every level.

Based on Lowell Cunningham’s comic book series, Men in Black (1997) was a phenomenal success – winning an Academy Award for Rick Baker’s make-up. Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld (The Addams Family), Tommy Lee Jones’s Agent K and Will Smith’s Agent J would go on to become instantly recognisable and immensely popular characters. The sci-fi/comedy/espionage genre mashup worked perfectly, and thankfully (after 2002’s less-than-successful sequel), Mr Sonnenfield almost effortlessly escorts this latest instalment back to the inventive silliness that worked so well for the original.

When Boris the Animal (Jemaine Clement) escapes from prison, it is with the sole purpose of finding Agent K (Jones) and holding him to account for having shot off his arm before arresting him in 1969. When a space-time continuum reveals that K actually died in the confrontation, both Boris and Agent J (Smith) return to 1969 to rewrite the course of history – with J determined to destroy the evil Boris before he kills the 29-year-old Agent K (Josh Brolin).

Mr Cohen’s (Tropic Thunder) terrific screenplay balances the time-travel imperatives with a great affection for what worked so well in the original – a buddy movie with an alien twist. Mr Brolin is perfect as the younger version of Mr Jones’s K, and both he and Mr Smith make the most of every opportunity to play the script’s every intriguing twist and turn for all its worth. The final sequences (based around the launch of Apollo 11’s trip to the moon) are both expertly handled and surprisingly affecting.

Bill Pope’s (The Matrix, Spider-Man 2 and 3) cinematography stylishly captures Bo Welch’s (Thor, Edward Scissorhands) artful production design – adding to the film’s affectionate take on an era when aliens looked more like the people in colourful alien costumes than the frightful CGI creations they have become. Men in Black III works as well as it does because it fondly and respectfully recalls the early era of alien/space technology movies – which ends up being not only a masterstroke of storytelling, but also an immensely enjoyable and very welcome return to form for the Men in Black team.