Men in Black: International (2019 Film) Review

The original, comic-book-based Guardians of the Galaxy are back and they have Thor and Valkyrie in their ranks this time. Does the return of the Men in Black recapture the science-fiction fun of the franchise?

Living in New York City, Molly has spent most of her life trying to prove the existence of the Men in Black, the agency that monitors alien life on Earth. When she's successful in finding the agency, she's eager to become a part of it and is hired by a reserved Agent O. Christened Agent M, she's sent to the MIB branch in London, England. There, she's partnered with hotshot Agent H and together, they must investigate a series of alien attacks happening all over the globe.

Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson star as Agent H and Agent M. Liam Neeson plays High T, the head of the UK MIB division, and Emma Thompson plays Agent O, the leader of MIB's US division. Kumail Nanjiani provides the voice of Pawny while Rafe Spall plays Agent C.

F. Gary Gray directed "Men in Black: International." Screenwriting duo Art Marcum and Matt Holloway wrote the film while Walter F. Parks and Laurie MacDonold produced it. The "Men in Black" films are based, however loosely, on the Malibu/Marvel comic book series of the same name. Sony Pictures Releasing distributed the film.

Overall Thoughts

It's not like I've been craving a continuation of the "Men in Black" film franchise, but when I heard that Sony was going to be revitalizing it with a new cast and crew, I was intrigued by the idea. Though I really liked the first and third films, the idea of seeing a new and different side of this world interested me, if only slightly. Not to mention, studios trying to revive old franchises has never gone wrong before, right? Right? 

Individually, I like Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson and the two have proven to be a good pair in the Marvel movies, but therein lies the problem with this film. You quickly realize that the extent of their roles in "International" is to simply be the alien spy versions of Thor and Valkyrie. If you were to take pieces of the dialogue between Hemsworth and Thompson in this movie, and use them for a scene featuring them as their Marvel characters, you wouldn't tell the difference. This is less a fault of the actors as I sense that this is exactly what they were asked to do, judging by the fact that they are always playing Agent M and Agent H that way without fail. Though the routine well, that's all it is: a routine. Neither of them are challenged to do something new. They're instead asked to do something they've done before for another studio in hopes that they'll achieve the same success.

One would've thought that with the subtitle "International," the film's foreign locations would've stood out more. To be fair, the "Men in Black" films have never been huge on scope before. For as high as the danger got, the three previous films kept the story strictly to the New York area, with a few exceptions. Even when the third film time-traveled back to 1969, it still wasn't too broad. Here comes "International," though, advertising itself like it was going to take you with its characters from one part of the world to another, which it does, but you don't feel it. Rather, the scope is somehow smaller than that of the original films, despite all of the traveling.

The supporting cast members are mostly weak. At first, there was something charming about Liam Neeson's role, but that quickly died down once the plot got underway. Emma Thompson is there only to connect this spin-off with the Will Smith/Tommy Lee Jones-led movies and nothing else. I did like Kumail Nanjiani as Pawny, a member of a chess-like alien race, hence the name. As a proven comedian, he had some great, comedic lines throughout the film and did his best to liven up a dull plot. For the second time this year, Rebecca Ferguson is utterly wasted, this time, as a throwaway flame of Agent H's. I kid you not, during her brief appearance, my eleven-year-old sister, who was sitting next to me, leaned over and whispered to me, "Poor Rebecca Ferguson." It was that bad.

There are moments in "International" where it is able to expand on the world of the Men in Black through new and creative character concepts, only to waste them by not giving them their due focus. Thompson's Molly has spent twenty years trying to find the MIB agency. Wouldn't it have been more interesting if this was more of a plot point and her becoming an agent was her goal to achieve throughout the movie? No, this is, instead, sped up and done away with within the first fifteen minutes. What about Hemsworth's Agent H? It's revealed right before the climatic action set piece that someone in the agency neuralized him. I would've warned you about spoilers, but since this has no bearing on the film at large, it's really an unimportant fact. What if it was more important, though? That could've spawned a fascinating story with some powerful themes even. Instead, once again, the movie dismisses interesting points as unimportant and concerns itself with generic material that does nothing to benefit the movie in the end. I know I focus on what could've been, rather than what the movie is, but these are valid points that could've made for two great movies. Instead, Sony bet on the writers of "Transformers: The Last Knight" and wasted a big budget on a story that's both clumsily told and has been done to death.

Rating: ★½

"Men in Black: International" may have the wardrobe, tech, and aliens that have been associated with the franchise for years now, but feels too much like a studio desperate to revive a beloved franchise that it misses the charm, humor, and heart of part one and three.

Since I'm late to reviewing this film, "Men in Black: International" is almost out of theaters. If you really want to see a new "Men in Black" film, so much that you're willing to pay to see a less-than stellar product, wait to see this film when its available to rent. Otherwise, you're better off staying home and watching either "Men in Black" or "Men in Black 3." The second one is a worse film because of just how lazy it is both on a story and technical level, but this is a close second. If you're wanting to see a film in the cinemas, see "Toy Story 4," "Yesterday," or "Spider-Man: Far From Home" either for your first, second, or possible third time.

Conclusion

This has been my review of "Men in Black: International." I hope you enjoyed this review. Have you seen the film? If you have, share your thoughts in the comments below. In addition, feel free to recommend a film for me to review next. Thanks for reading, I'm Dallin, your resident film fanatic, and I'll return soon with another editorial.