MOVIE REVIEW: MEN IN BLACK: INTERNATIONAL

The Men in Black have expanded to cover the globe but so have the villains of the universe. To keep everyone safe, decorated Agent H and determined rookie M join forces -- an unlikely pairing that just might work. When aliens that can take the form of any human arrive on Earth, H and M embark on a globe-trotting adventure to save the agency -- and ultimately the world -- from their mischievous plans.

Director: F. Gary Gray

Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson, Kumail Nanjiani, Rebecca Ferguson, Rafe Spall, Laurent and Larry Bourgeois, Liam Neeson, along with Emma Thompson

Release Date: June 14, 2019

Genres: Action, Adventure, Comedy

Rated PG-13 for sci-fi action, some language and suggestive material.

Runtime: 1h 54min

Review:

Men in Black: International is a half hearted reboot that does boast a pair of a game stars that almost makes the film memorable.  F. Gary Gray captures some of the feel from the original but its never maintained for a consistent amount of time.  As such, the film is better in parts than it is as a whole.  The scripting doesn’t help much with it playing to the most basic and predictable story beats.  So ultimately it’s up Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson to make the whole thing watchable, luckily their chemistry makes the whole thing an enjoyable romp even if it’s ultimately forgettable.  The Men In Black series has always had trouble nailing the original’s feel in the sequels.  The third entry in the film came close and is an underrated entry in the series, International will probably fall just short of that entry.  It did take on the gargantuan task of replacing the Will Smith/Tommy Lee Jones dynamic and it does reasonably well even if the story is generic and ultimately mundane.

B-