{"id":31420,"date":"2019-06-14T16:31:39","date_gmt":"2019-06-14T20:31:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/?p=31420"},"modified":"2019-06-14T16:33:36","modified_gmt":"2019-06-14T20:33:36","slug":"men-in-black-international-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/2019\/06\/14\/men-in-black-international-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"Men in Black: International (2019)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>\u201cMen in Black International\u201d should have worked. On paper it\u2019s a great idea for a reboot, one that doesn\u2019t bring with it the marquee name of Will Smith and the class of Tommy Lee Jones. I respect Sony for wanting to revive the \u201cMen in Black\u201d franchise after so many years, and I respect them even more for side stepping the whole \u201c21 Jump Street meets Men in Black\u201d movie they were planning. But in the end, this new attempts to jump start \u201cMen in Black\u201d for a new audience is a swing and a colossal miss. Worse, it\u2019s absolutely boring.<\/p>\n

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Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson star as Agent H and Agent M, who employ high-tech weaponry to battle mischievous aliens on Earth. However, the pair also discovers a major threat within their own ranks. Paired with a small alien named Pawny, the pair of agents try to uncover who might be working as a mole within their ranks, all the while Agent M is convinced her flashbacks to witnessing the MIB as a child might help in the case. All things considered the casting of Tessa Thompson and Chris Hemsworth is a great idea. Thompson packs comic chops, genuine skill, and can work off just about everyone, while Hemsworth has proven to be a dashing leading man who can also derive a chuckle or two.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s just when all is said and done nothing here convinces audiences to accept it and wants to explore more from this world beyond the subtitle \u201cInternational.\u201d The original \u201cMen in Black,\u201d in spite of not at all being a fan, was packed with a diverse cast. So the mere implication of \u201cThis is the one! This time we have a more diverse cast!\u201d is presumptuous especially when it does nothing with that concept. Sure we get Emma Thompson and Liam Neeson as the heads of MIB instead of Rip Torn, but they never get to do much beyond providing glorified cameos. Thompson and Hemsworth were excellent in \u201cThor: Ragnarok\u201d so teaming them up again also feels like a no brainer bound to deliver the goods once more, but what\u2019s lacking of Taika Waititi\u2019s manic energy.<\/p>\n

F. Gary Gray spends a lot more time mimicking Barry Sonnenfeld than he does carving out his own niche for the series, and it ends up feeling just a cheap facsimile. I\u2019m no \u201cMen in Black\u201d fan, but the original 1997 film had an energy and darkly comedic tone that the future films could never quite re-capture. If anything, I loved the look of the new aliens introduced, and thought that they were very beautifully realized. I especially enjoyed new sidekick Pawny, and demand more of him. More, I say. \u201cInternational\u201d presents a very good and creative premise that might have worked for a television series, or an animated reboot for cable. As the launching point for a once major blockbuster sci-fi series, thought, it\u2019s dull, long, and never rises above being serviceable. Serviceable in that you might enjoy the final half hour when it shows up on late night basic cable in two years before you nod off to sleep.<\/p>\n