Men in Black: International

This time, the co-hosting duties fall to Buck the Duck.

Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones took charge as the Men in Black for three films. But it's time now for some new agents to protect the Earth from the scum of the universe. Tessa Thompson and Chris Hemsworth are those agents, and they are part of Men in Black: International. 

Molly Wright (Thompson) wants to join the Men in Black. One night in 1996, she saw them mindwipe her folks and met a fuzzy alien. So she hopes the MIB will give her the answers to life, the universe and everything. One day, she finally tracks down their headquarters. Agent O (Emma Thompson) gives Molly a chance and sends the newly minted Agent M to MIB's London Branch. M is introduced to the Branch's best agent, Agent H (Hemsworth) and the chief, High T (Liam Neeson).

This time, the MIB have to keep a potential solar-system destroyer cannon from evil hands. Twin cosmic energy assassins (Larry and Laurent Bourgeois) want it for their masters, the body-snatching Hive. Vungus the Ugly (Kayvan Novak), a royal party animal, had it for safe keeping, but the Twins killed him. M has it now. She and H have to keep it away from the Twins and other villains. One of them is a mole within the MIB.

And now, over to Jethro, to review it.

Yes.

New director F. Gary Gray works from a script by Art Marcum and Matt Holloway. It's a good script that could've been better. The film's 115 minutes are nicely paced as it moves from New York to London and more. It plays a great guessing game with the mole's identity. The revelation of their identity is executed wonderfully even if it should be obvious. It shines a new light on the film's opening battle on the Eiffel Tower. There was a plot point with Earth facing destruction should something happen to Vungus. Spoiler Alert: nothing comes out of it.

A lot comes out of Agents H and M. Agent H, in particular, starts out as an egotistical clown. But we find he's a competent clown with dark secrets, including one hidden from him. Meanwhile, Agent M is a smart character who sometimes gets in too deep (i.e. joining Vungus's security detail when she's not that fluent in his language). But she's a quick learner. Our leads' chemistry is entertaining and it gets better when the sarcastic Pawny (Kumail Nanjiani), an Alien Chess Pawn, joins them.

Now for the aliens. The film eschews the franchise's usual practical makeup and puppets for digital aliens. They mesh with the live-action actors pretty well. The one exception was a purple time-controlling alien, whose one scene, I'll admit, was amusing. The Twins don't have much personality and barely speak. But their true cosmic energy forms are scary. The Mole's true form is a creepy plant monster. Riza (Rebecca Ferguson), a three-armed arms dealer, made for a memorable one-scene antagonist. Her bodyguard, Luca (Spencer Wilding), was also memorable. The film also sees a cameo by Frank the Pug (Tim Blaney).

Another technical highlight is production designer Charles Wood for visualizing the MIB's London headquarters and the Eiffel Tower's secret room. The alien gadgets and weaponry were wonderfully unique. Danny Elfman and Chris Bacon's score made great use of the first film's theme. Cinematographer Stuart Drybaugh gives us some stunning imagery of the film's international settings. One establishing shot of New York was so pristine it was surreal. In other words, it's a visually and aurally appealing film.

Men in Black: International is an entertaining film for an afternoon matinee. Its lead Agents make up for any narrative shortcomings. Its expansion of the franchise makes for interesting worldbuilding. See it at least once. You might not need to get mind...

Get that thing out of my face...