In a world where second sequels tend to be disappointing, even by sequel standards, Men in Black 3 is something of a refreshment. It improves upon the uninvolving Men in Black 2, but I suppose that's a low bar to clear. More significantly, it comes as close as one could expect to duplicating the magic of the original. This isn't the blatant cash grab you may have been expecting. And if it is, well, it's a pretty entertaining one.
A one-armed baddie from space named Boris the Animal has broken out of jail and come to avenge Agent K, who shot off his arm 50-some years prior. But Boris wants more than mere revenge. He wants to rewrite history. So Boris warps back in time to kill Agent K before he the day when K shoots off Boris' arm. With Agent K dead, Agent J must warp back to the past as well in order to prevent any of this from happening. Or re-happening. Or whatever.
My review in a nutshell: Men in Black 3 is funny, with hardly a dull bone in its body. It's not as fresh or witty as the original, but it's a good time. More specifically, the fact that Men in Black 3 succeeds as much as it does is especially impressive since Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones don't share much screentime. In fact, Tommy Lee Jones has less than 15 minutes of screentime thanks to being killed off in the past so that J can save him from the future...into the past. Ugh, time travel gives me a headache.
Replacing Tommy Lee Jones is Josh Brolin, who portrays young Agent K. He really does talk, act and sound like Agent K, so it still works. The banter between K and J still isn't as strong as it was in the original, but it remains fairly sharp.
The real scene-stealer, though, is Michael Stuhlbarg as Griffin, an alien that can foresee dozens of alternate futures at once. He shows up at roughly the half-way mark, and sticks around for most of the rest of the film, and he is riotous. Stuhlbarg's performance as the character is perfect, and he truly is the highlight of the film. If you need one reason to see Men in Black 3, Michael Stuhlbarg can be your excuse.
Men in Black 3 also wisely eliminates some of the more grating supporting characters from previous films. Frank the Pug is gone, and so are the David Cross cameos. The worm aliens (that had a particularly large role in Men in Black 2) are barely in the film at all. Instead, we get brief scenes from Will Arnett, Emma Thompson, and Keone Young that are surprisingly funny.
Of course, you can't have a Men in Black film without plenty of gross-out gags, weird-looking aliens, and a nasty villain. We get all of those in this film. The villain - named Boris the Animal - is of particular note. Portrayed by Jemaine Clement, Boris is everything you would want from a villain. He's smart, evil, funny, gross-looking, and a legitimate threat. He's not as bumbling as the antagonist from the first, nor as undefined as the one from the second. If there's one way in which Men in Black 3 outdoes the sequels, it's with its villain.
Well, that and Danny Elfman's score. Elfman's previous work on the franchise has been serviceable, but unremarkable. Here, his work stands out more. The franchise's main theme gets some fresh variations, and there are some very pretty choir bits in a couple scenes that are really lovely. While some unnecessary electric guitar gets in the way on at least two occasions, Elfman's writing here is notably good.
Men in Black 3 is not a perfect movie. A couple unexplained questions that the time travel situation creates may frustrate some audience members. And not only is K's wife forgotten about again, he seems to have a new love interest (it's only suggested, though). Still, Men in Black 3 is a surprisingly satisfying return to form. It clocks in at 106 minutes, and doesn't feel even a minute too long, and the whole film is an entertaining ride from start to finish. It's not great, but Men in Black 3 is enjoyable enough to neuralyze all memories of Men in Black 2.
7/10