Director: F. Gary Gray
Distributor: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Duration: 115 minutes
Men in Black: International (Blu-ray) – Movie Review
Many of us know the Men in Black franchise, where Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones shined as the men in black suits who protected the entire human race from alien invasions. Well, they also made sure no knowledge of other species leaked, allowing the masses to lead their simple lives unknowing of the dangers from out of space. The series eventually also became a cartoon, where the main characters were drawn like the original cast. Now, with the current trend of remaking movies, or making up sequels for older movies, Men in Black: International saw the light. This time Smith and Jones were no part of the project and we had to make do with Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson as the new duet for the franchise.
Men in Black: International starts off with an event in Paris, where ‘the Swarm’ is trying to open a portal to our world. This race of creatures is clearly a feared foe and the Men in Black sent two officers to the scene to prevent the world from being overrun by this terror. How the event goes, or how it eventually ends, we don’t know. All we know a few scenes later is that the two agents on the scene are still alive and somehow saved the day. We soon get to know Molly (Tessa Thompson) who had an encounter with the MIB when she was just a little kid. The agents who then came to her house because an alien entity was detected, didn’t know she was awake and consequently didn’t erase her memory. Due to this, she has been trying to find the organization for nearly her entire teenage/adult life. She eventually tracks this special organization down and manages to become an agent on probation, who is called M. Her first mission is to clean up some mess in London, where she has to work together with agent H (Chris Hemsworth), who seems to be a flirtatious nuisance. When assassins show up while having to entertain a foreign dignitary, things turn sour.
The flow is pretty much what you’d expect from a movie such as this. There’s a proper introduction to the things that are about to follow. Sadly, the introduction never seems to end, and only the character of M is getting fleshed out properly during this time. There’s still enough action to be found and we have to be honest that the sceneries and special effects all look amazing. Sadly, it seems that CGI was the main focus of the film, rather than character development, humor, and story, which eventually causes the movie to crash and burn, turning it into a rather bland piece of cinema. Don’t get us wrong, the movie is still able to cause an occasional giggle, but you can see the ending coming from miles away.
Acting performances in the movie are quite decent. The main cast members for this movie are Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson, who already starred together in Thor: Ragnarok and Avengers: Endgame, both having the same ancestry. It has to be said that the character of Thompson, M, has been properly fleshed out with a proper backstory and motivation to become one of the MIB. Hemsworth’s character, H, on the other hand, feels shallow, uninspired and like a watered-down version of James Bond. There are also other big hitters present in the movie, such as Liam Neeson and Emma Thompson. The funny sidekick in this movie is voiced by Kumail Nanjiani, who is also a well-established actor.
There are many different special features to be found on the Blu-ray version of MIB: International. You’ll have fun with a gag reel, a few recaps of the movie, a small history of the MIB franchise and some commercials about alien entities and products. Other than that, there are a lot of making of sequences, which revolve around specific scenes, choices, casting and so on. The features have been brought in a light and fun way, which is certainly a plus.
Conclusion
Men in Black: International is certainly a decent successor of the series, but it doesn’t pack the same punch or likeability of the original trilogy. You’ll have a decent cast to work with, but the character of H feels very underdeveloped and shallow, making M the only real star of the movie. If you want to watch a movie that fits well within the earlier established universe, this movie is still worth the watch, albeit without the same humoristic scenes.
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