1 1/2 Stars
Here come the Men in Black, again. Except that the fourth movie in the franchise, Men in Black: International is an abysmal attempt to reboot or carry on the franchise without, the sorely missed Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones. Even worse, stars Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson have zero chemistry or appeal as the new agents. This even though the same two actors have proven themselves as a great on-screen duo in Thor: Ragnorok. This latest MIB flick is crippled by a lame storyline, uninteresting villains, and a third act revelation that is obvious to anyone who’s ever seen a movie…any movie.
The Men in Black have always protected the Earth from the scum of the universe. In this new adventure, they tackle their biggest, most global threat to date: a mole in the Men in Black organization. Meanwhile, a galactic force has inhabited the bodies of a set of twins in France. This forces the agents to travel around the world to stop the destruction of Earth and to weed out the turncoat within the organization.
International is lazy and haphazard in the way it handles the already established world and rules of the franchise. The film was reportedly troubled by a difficult production process and those strains and backroom tugs-of-war are evident in the mixed bag onscreen. It doesn’t matter. I’m sure the series will be given another overhaul and pushed out again with fresh faces in another five years or so. But after the dismal Independence Day sequel and now MIB: International, its time studios realize that making a sequel to a Will Smith movie without Smith is a bad idea.
Director: F. Gary Gray
Stars: Chris Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson, Emma Thompson