Men in Black III

MIB III works because of Will Smith’s and Josh Brolin’s chemistry. Without these two men the movies would have been crushed under the weight of its unclear plot, disposable bad guy and talk of time travel.

The movie revolves around Will Smith going back in time to keep The Flight of the Conchords Jemaine Clement from killing a younger agent K who is played wonderfully by Josh Brolin. He is equal parts cranky, happy and confident. When acting alongside Will Smith Brolin proves to be equally as capable and the two form a fun relationship of equal personalities.

All the action and plot are secondary to the funny moments between Josh Brolin, Will Smith, Bill Hader and Alice Eve. Watching Will Smith threaten Bill Hader’s Andy Warhol is far more entertaining than any of the loud CGI action.

The biggest disappointment of the film is what they did with Jemaine Clement. Clement has proven to a force of nature in the comedy world but in this film he is given nothing to do and his personality never shines through the boring bad guy Boris. Vincent D’Onofrio was incredibly memorable as Edgar the bug. His big bug man was threatening, humorous and did not want world domination. Thus, he was believable and a perfect foil to Will Smith’s rookie agent. Clement is a monotone, one-armed dude who only wants destruction….Thus, he is boring.

The MIB series has always featured inventive creatures by Rick Baker. MIB III keeps up the tradition of creative design. This film features some creative retro design.

This movie has earned the fresh 69% rating on Rotten Tomatoes because it features likable characters who you enjoy spending time with. However, due to the paper-thin plot and stock bad guy it will be known as the second best MIB film.