Movie Review: Men In Black III

As a kid growing up in the late 90's/early 2000's, Men in Black was an essential movie in my childhood. The first one was one of my favorites movies as a kid and I have a lot of fond memories of the series. Ten years after the second installment, Men in Black is back and it does the original justice.

Men in Black III is the perfect redemption for the disappointing second installment 10 years ago. It hits all the right notes and brought back a similar feeling that I had while watching the first one as a kid. It went back to the basics of the series that the second one was lacking. The story was simple and effective and it never came off as corny or stupid. The humor was good and it blended well with the action. It wasn't the driving force behind the movie like the second one (which is a big reason why the second one was such a letdown). It was great to see Will Smith back on the big screen after a four-year absence, but the real star of Men in Black III is Josh Brolin. He was pitch-perfect as the young Agent K. On top of looking like a younger Tommy Lee Jones, he got everything else about him down to a T. Whoever did the casting on this movie deserves a gold medal for putting Brolin in this role. Another thing that brought Men In Black III back the roots of the series was a good villain. Jermaine Clement's turn as Boris the Animal was unlike anything he's ever done before. As a fan of his work, it was cool to see him take on something so different than what he's used to doing. He wasn't as good as Vincent D'Onofrio in the original, but he was a much better villain than Lara Flynn Boyle and Johnny Knoxville in the second one. The best thing about Men in Black III though was the ending. It's unexpected and actually really touching. Emotional depth was the last thing expecting watching this movie, but the ending has it and it really wraps up the franchise extremely well.  Men in Black III was ultra nostalgia and I loved every minute of it.

4/5 Stars