Men in Black: International

Men in Black: International

Starring Chris Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson, Kumail Nanjiani, Liam Neeson

Directed by F. Gary Gray

When it comes to sequels, there's always an inherent problem in that it'll undoubtedly be compared to the original, and very rarely does the sequel far exceed the original.  When you add into the fact that the two main actors from the first three films refuse to do the fourth, you've opened a whole new can of worms - and that's what happened with "Men in Black: International" - a film that was released seven years after the third in the successful franchise, and also featured two different stars in the leading roles.  While their chemistry is obviously there (as both worked well together in previous films), here it just doesn't work - and neither does the whole story, basically.  Essentially, this is a sequel that no one asked for, and while it's not as bad as some people say it is, ultimately ends up completely unmemorable.

For this outing, we're not given into the glorious exploits of young upstart Agent Jay and his elder, gruff, by-the-books partner Agent Kay, but rather two new agents who are pretty similar in every way.  Agent M (Tessa Thompson) witnessed an alien as a young child, and devoted her whole life to finding the Men in Black so she can be a part of it.  When she finally finds her way in, she's given a probationary assignment in London, and is paired with Agent H (Chris Hemsworth) - a top agent who's also better working alone, goes off the books, and maintains a close relationship with his former partner T (Liam Neeson), who became the head of the MIB UK branch.  The two soon discover a plot by an enemy alien species known as the Hive to destroy Earth, and they find the only weapon capable of taking them down - while also learning there's someone in MIB who's a mole, working with the Hive, and it becomes apparent to them that they can't trust anyone.

F. Gary Gray is an acclaimed director in his own right, bringing films like "Friday," "The Italian Job," and "Straight Outta Compton" to the big screen, but in the annals of history, this one won't be listed as one of his major accomplishments.  The film is just boring, a plain by-the-books action spectacle that's devoid of any intelligence, offering wannabe twists that are easily spotted a mile away, and leaving you with a shrug after watching it - not painfully bad you never want to think about it again, but something worse: unmemorable for all the wrong reasons.

The chemistry between Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson is organically there, since both worked so well off one another in "Thor: Ragnarok," but this script doesn't allow for the same banter that Taika Waititi allowed for them to use in "Ragnarok."  There's small moments of spark, but ultimately it's not enough to even spark a fire let alone anything more explosive.  Liam Neeson seems bored with the entire thing, and as it is with each "Men in Black" film there has to be an annoying sidekick, and this time it falls on the voice of Kumail Nanjiani and the CGI body of a small alien warrior called Pawny who's taken it upon himself to protect the Queen - Agent M.  Essentially, it seems that no one really wanted to be involved in the project, and it comes forth in their soulless performances.

The main thrust of the film is the search for the McGuffin - the all-powerful weapon capable of taking out the Hive - and the hot potato game that's played over it.  There's no real sense of urgency, and for a film that's almost two hours long, it felt like something a lot less, which is useful for a film of this boring capacity.  Still, there's no real forward motion, and the ending itself comes out of left field and is over in a few moments, adding to the sense that everyone involved in the film just wanted to push something out for the sake of having it out there.

While many films are terrible for good reasons, "Men in Black: International" isn't terrible for that reason - it's terribly boring, offering nothing new, intellectual, or even humorous, making us all wish we were neuralysed so we won't have to remember it.

The Score: D+