Men in Black: International - Review: A Mire of Mediocrity
Release date (US): June 14th, 2019
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson, Liam Neeson, Emma Thompson, Rebecca Ferguson, Kumail Nanjiani
**DISCLAIMER**: This is a subjective, opinionated article that does not have, nor should have any effect on your opinion. As such, my opinion is entitled to change over time and whatever is written here at this point in time may not and should not be held to me in the future. You are not meant to agree with me 100 percent of the time, because the nature of subjectivity is we see everything differently. If there is something you happen to disagree with, I absolutely respect your point of view if you will respect mine. Please keep this in mind.
The Review
One could argue that throughout the decorated and storied career of Hollywood icon, Will Smith, Men in Black was one of the films that really did put him on the map. The original, starring Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, opened a door into an alien universe that many gravitated towards. Smith and Jones had chemistry that tied the film together, and sequels were quickly sent into production.
But in trying to recapture the magic, the two sequels failed to connect with audiences and critics alike. The over-reliance on Smith and Jones made critics wonder whether or not the first film (92 percent on Rotten Tomatoes) had been a fluke. Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones continued to have the same dynamic partnership that had lit up the first film, but something didn't quite translate as well into the second and third iterations in the franchise.
So Sony waited a few years before deciding again to return to the franchise that had seemingly captured lightning in a bottle. Seeking the aid of director F. Gary Gray, who directed the critical smash hit, Fate of the Furious, and Marvel alumni Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson, the studio seemed to have a hit brewing on their hands. A fresh take on the franchise with a new comedic duo looked to set the stage for a triumphant return to the top-secret government agency.
Unfortunately for Sony, they've missed the mark again and failed to recapture the magic of the original. This movie, though not terrible, is at best mildly entertaining, and at worst, simply put, flat-out bad.
When casting two dynamic leads in Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson, one can only expect great things from the duo that proved they had chemistry and comedic timing from Thor: Ragnarok. And while the two still have good chemistry in the film and deliver solid performances, the writing lets them down tremendously. In Thor: Ragnarok, the two were given source material and a script that they could bounce off and lean into when they needed to, which made their performances that much better.
Chris Hemsworth is a wonderful actor, and has really grown into a proper A-list star in the past five years. He's also been developing a comedic side to him that he's put to great use in the Marvel films. But while his improvisation and goofy sense of humor seems to work so well in those films, you can clearly see in Men in Black: International when he stuck to the script and when he improvised, and unfortunately for him, there are very few times where either work. I would argue that the best moments from him are the lighter, deeper, and more emotional moments (which are few and far between) where he gets to show his acting range and versatility. When he's trying to be the funny man, he comes off more as Chris Hemsworth than Agent H.
Tessa Thompson, another fantastic dramatic and comedic actor, also gives a strangely oscillating performance. There are moments in the film where I found her character, Agent M, borderline annoying. She says and does some things that make you pause and wonder who in the world would actually do that in the real world. But there are other times where she asserts herself and becomes something more than what the script had on paper, and those are the best moments. It's not entirely her fault; out of all the characters in the film, the screenplay and the script do her little justice. Her character is entirely one-dimensional, and at certain points even used as a plot device that it's hard to tell if Thompson was just following a bad script or not.
Supporting cast members, notably Liam Neeson and Emma Thompson, do fine in their respective roles. Thompson is given hardly anything to do, but when she's onscreen, you're briefly reminded of the "glory days" or the original Men in Black. Neeson is given a far more substantial role than I had originally anticipated, and while the script once again lets him down, Liam Neeson is too good of an actor to let that hinder him. Yes, his character is extremely one-dimensional, but he does what he can and turns in a decent performance.
But you didn't come to a Men in Black film looking for Oscar-caliber performances and dialogue; you came for the fun and the action. And there is indeed plenty of action to be had. The film is so busy trying to live up to its subtitle, "International", that in hopping to so many different locations, it often loses track of the focus and the story. But regardless, the action in the film is indeed fun. While not the most inventive of action set pieces, what you do see is entertaining and at the very least, will not bore you or put you to sleep. There's nothing particularly original about any of it, but then again, that goes for the rest of the film as well. There's a particular action scene involving guns and a car towards the beginning that I thought was quite clever and unique, and was easily one of the best parts of the film if you ignore why the characters are in that situation to begin with.
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Despite the bad writing, and the extremely one-dimensional characters presented in the film, there is one that stands out, head and shoulders above the rest: a new alien companion named Pawny, played by Kumail Nanjiani. Pawny doesn't appear until about halfway through the movie, but when he does, he immediately captures the hearts of everyone in the audience with his wit and odd cuteness. Nanjiani is the only actor whose humor translates well onscreen; for some reason his brand of humor lent itself better to this character than Hemsworth's did to his. It wouldn't even be a stretch for me to say that without Pawny, this film would have been unabashedly bad. Pawny brings a level of charm, humor, and likability that was missing from the film prior that makes the film that much more bearable.
But as always, the deciding factor for me is always story. Story is the single most important aspect that a movie must nail in order for me to call it good on a fundamental (and completely subjective) scale. And while Men in Black: International brings some genuine laughs and chuckles at times with some decent and (rarely) inventive action, the story falls flat in almost every single regard. The story was so bad, in fact, that for the first hour of the movie I had no idea where the film was going and was, in fact, bored to death until Pawny showed up. When Pawny showed up, not only did the entertainment factor spike, but the story seemed to pick itself up and stumble towards the finish line, albeit, in my opinion, too little too late.
The first hour hour is spent trying to set up characters that we generally have a good idea about already. The film spends too much time on character development that is, quite frankly, unnecessary and out of place. There are several scenes that I would have outright cut from the film, and the movie is already under two hours. But I still believe that at least fifteen minutes of footage was not needed at all. And then, the film seemed to be setting up a mystery that I thought was going a certain direction for the majority of the running time. I actually thought that if the film went this specific direction, it would be quite interesting and set up some unique scenarios. Unfortunately, the film abandoned that subplot and went for a very, very generic ending that was disappointing and rather lackluster.
In Conclusion: Men in Black: International is watchable. Once you get over the first hour and are introduced to Pawny, the film picks up speed and you may actually enjoy the final half. But it's not enough to save the movie from a poor script, odd acting choices, and a disappointing story. There are so many different ways you could have gone with this universe and with these characters, and yet, for some inexplicable reason, the director and the studio decided to play it safe.
But in trying to recapture the magic, the two sequels failed to connect with audiences and critics alike. The over-reliance on Smith and Jones made critics wonder whether or not the first film (92 percent on Rotten Tomatoes) had been a fluke. Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones continued to have the same dynamic partnership that had lit up the first film, but something didn't quite translate as well into the second and third iterations in the franchise.
So Sony waited a few years before deciding again to return to the franchise that had seemingly captured lightning in a bottle. Seeking the aid of director F. Gary Gray, who directed the critical smash hit, Fate of the Furious, and Marvel alumni Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson, the studio seemed to have a hit brewing on their hands. A fresh take on the franchise with a new comedic duo looked to set the stage for a triumphant return to the top-secret government agency.
Unfortunately for Sony, they've missed the mark again and failed to recapture the magic of the original. This movie, though not terrible, is at best mildly entertaining, and at worst, simply put, flat-out bad.
When casting two dynamic leads in Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson, one can only expect great things from the duo that proved they had chemistry and comedic timing from Thor: Ragnarok. And while the two still have good chemistry in the film and deliver solid performances, the writing lets them down tremendously. In Thor: Ragnarok, the two were given source material and a script that they could bounce off and lean into when they needed to, which made their performances that much better.
Chris Hemsworth is a wonderful actor, and has really grown into a proper A-list star in the past five years. He's also been developing a comedic side to him that he's put to great use in the Marvel films. But while his improvisation and goofy sense of humor seems to work so well in those films, you can clearly see in Men in Black: International when he stuck to the script and when he improvised, and unfortunately for him, there are very few times where either work. I would argue that the best moments from him are the lighter, deeper, and more emotional moments (which are few and far between) where he gets to show his acting range and versatility. When he's trying to be the funny man, he comes off more as Chris Hemsworth than Agent H.
Tessa Thompson, another fantastic dramatic and comedic actor, also gives a strangely oscillating performance. There are moments in the film where I found her character, Agent M, borderline annoying. She says and does some things that make you pause and wonder who in the world would actually do that in the real world. But there are other times where she asserts herself and becomes something more than what the script had on paper, and those are the best moments. It's not entirely her fault; out of all the characters in the film, the screenplay and the script do her little justice. Her character is entirely one-dimensional, and at certain points even used as a plot device that it's hard to tell if Thompson was just following a bad script or not.
Supporting cast members, notably Liam Neeson and Emma Thompson, do fine in their respective roles. Thompson is given hardly anything to do, but when she's onscreen, you're briefly reminded of the "glory days" or the original Men in Black. Neeson is given a far more substantial role than I had originally anticipated, and while the script once again lets him down, Liam Neeson is too good of an actor to let that hinder him. Yes, his character is extremely one-dimensional, but he does what he can and turns in a decent performance.
But you didn't come to a Men in Black film looking for Oscar-caliber performances and dialogue; you came for the fun and the action. And there is indeed plenty of action to be had. The film is so busy trying to live up to its subtitle, "International", that in hopping to so many different locations, it often loses track of the focus and the story. But regardless, the action in the film is indeed fun. While not the most inventive of action set pieces, what you do see is entertaining and at the very least, will not bore you or put you to sleep. There's nothing particularly original about any of it, but then again, that goes for the rest of the film as well. There's a particular action scene involving guns and a car towards the beginning that I thought was quite clever and unique, and was easily one of the best parts of the film if you ignore why the characters are in that situation to begin with.
Despite the bad writing, and the extremely one-dimensional characters presented in the film, there is one that stands out, head and shoulders above the rest: a new alien companion named Pawny, played by Kumail Nanjiani. Pawny doesn't appear until about halfway through the movie, but when he does, he immediately captures the hearts of everyone in the audience with his wit and odd cuteness. Nanjiani is the only actor whose humor translates well onscreen; for some reason his brand of humor lent itself better to this character than Hemsworth's did to his. It wouldn't even be a stretch for me to say that without Pawny, this film would have been unabashedly bad. Pawny brings a level of charm, humor, and likability that was missing from the film prior that makes the film that much more bearable.
But as always, the deciding factor for me is always story. Story is the single most important aspect that a movie must nail in order for me to call it good on a fundamental (and completely subjective) scale. And while Men in Black: International brings some genuine laughs and chuckles at times with some decent and (rarely) inventive action, the story falls flat in almost every single regard. The story was so bad, in fact, that for the first hour of the movie I had no idea where the film was going and was, in fact, bored to death until Pawny showed up. When Pawny showed up, not only did the entertainment factor spike, but the story seemed to pick itself up and stumble towards the finish line, albeit, in my opinion, too little too late.
The first hour hour is spent trying to set up characters that we generally have a good idea about already. The film spends too much time on character development that is, quite frankly, unnecessary and out of place. There are several scenes that I would have outright cut from the film, and the movie is already under two hours. But I still believe that at least fifteen minutes of footage was not needed at all. And then, the film seemed to be setting up a mystery that I thought was going a certain direction for the majority of the running time. I actually thought that if the film went this specific direction, it would be quite interesting and set up some unique scenarios. Unfortunately, the film abandoned that subplot and went for a very, very generic ending that was disappointing and rather lackluster.
In Conclusion: Men in Black: International is watchable. Once you get over the first hour and are introduced to Pawny, the film picks up speed and you may actually enjoy the final half. But it's not enough to save the movie from a poor script, odd acting choices, and a disappointing story. There are so many different ways you could have gone with this universe and with these characters, and yet, for some inexplicable reason, the director and the studio decided to play it safe.
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