Official Synopsis
Agents J [Will Smith] and K [Tommy Lee Jones] are back… in time. Agent J has seen some inexplicable things in his 15 years with the Men in Black, but nothing, not even aliens, perplexes him as much as his wry, reticent partner. But when Agent K’s life and the fate of the planet are put at stake, Agent J will have to travel back in time to put things right. J discovers that there are secrets to the universe that Agent K never told him – secrets that will reveal themselves as he teams up with the young Agent K [Josh Brolin] to save his partner, the agency and the future of humankind.
While Men in Black 3 can’t possibly live up to the hype (and fun) that the first MIB brought, it certainly does erase the memory that is the disastrously boring MIB 2. Sonnenfeld and crew took a very solid route with this MIB, as they created a more balanced storyline that introduces some new characters that are interesting, and scary. As you read above, the story focuses on K’s past and someone he put away. The bad guy in question is named Boris the Animal (played by Flight of the Conchords Jemaine Clement), who escapes from prison and has a plan to go back in time to erase K. As fate would have it, Boris does kill K and erases him in the future from everyone’s memory… but J’s. J figures out that this has happened and finds a way to go back in time to try to prevent K’s death. Of course, J’s adventure in the past brings him in contact with a young K (Josh Brolin) and early renditions of MIB equipment/situations. In other words, it opens the movie up to a boatload of comedy.
One of the best things about MIB 3 is how fluid the story moves. There’s really no down time in the film. When J discovers that K has been knocked off in the past, thus disappearing in the future, the story moves quickly to get J back to the past. There’s no unnecessary downtime, it simply keeps jogging forward. What this does for the story is that it keeps it constantly interesting. That’s not to say that the story doesn’t feel like it has more than a few gimmicks to keep it moving forward (such as how J is the only one that remembers K, and how chocolate milk is the sign that someone has been erased from history), it has plenty of gimmicks. Within the realm of the MIB universe, it all fits. You didn’t question things in the first film, so why start now? Anyway, the fluidness of the story was one of the big issues with MIB 2, you would have these horrible lull’s in the story that just brought everything good about the MIB series to a halt. MIB 3 isn’t plagued by lulls and just keeps moving and moving, even if it’s not logical.
Focusing back on the story, this one seemed a bit more thought through than the last. It was interesting how everything unfolds in the present, and even more how it unfolds in the past. Sonnenfeld and his writers needed to make sure that all holes that could possibly be created were patched up before J left the past to return to the present. One mystery that I’m still kind of wondering about is the last interaction between J and K at the end. This might be a possible hole that is partially filled up, as I didn’t get K’s response to J. I’m sure it’s explained in the film (I’ve watched it four times), but I didn’t’ quite grasp it. You’ll know it when you see it, as I don’t want to give it away. Anyway, at the end of the day, the story feels complete and leaves it wide open for another MIB, which I wouldn’t mind seeing if it was created.
The story, while not as deep and interesting as the first MIB, is certainly leaps and bounds better than the second film. It’s far more creative, even if it’s more simplistic in nature.
One big plus that MIB 3 does really well is getting the right cast for the job. Everyone seemed to be on the same page, and no one was placed in the film that didn’t need to belong in it. The antagonist in the film is creepy as hell, as Jemaine Clement put together one of the harshest characters in the MIB film family. His unforgiving nature is defined in the opening scene, as he breaks out of prison. I loved him and feared him in the movie.
As for our protagonist in the film, Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones seemed like they enjoyed this time around a bit more than last. They brought their comical ‘back and forth’ back to MIB and made it seem real. When Jones was replaced by Brolin in the past parts of the movie, Brolin never missed a beat. He sounded like Jones, looked like Jones and brought everything about K that we have come to love (dry, rigid and sorta mean). To cap the casting off, Emma Thompson made a wonderful new Zed as Agent O. I can’t remember the last movie that Emma Thompson flopped in, so I’m assuming she never has flopped. She is a great actress that fit perfectly in with the rest of them.
At the end of the day, Men in Black 3 isn’t going to overtake Men in Black, but it will provide a proper sequel to it that MIB 2 couldn’t create. Sonnenfeld better continue this story, as he is clearly back in action like his characters.
(Reviewed with Passive 3D)
As for the 3D portion of this release, it’s pretty damn impressive. Not only does the 3D disc give you examples of how they converted the movie into 3D, but it also shows you what the depth created looks like compared to the 2D version. For those of you who have never explored how 3D conversion works, this is going to be a treat for you. Getting back to the quality of the 3D Blu-ray versus the original Blu-ray, there is no comparison. The smooth images, colorful depth of the 3D really does make for a better experience. I’m not a huge fan of 3D either, and it impressed the hell out of me. The colors seemed to stand out a bit more, again it was probably the depth created, and the little details seemed to jump out more (no pun intended). For example, J’s fight with the giant fish at the beginning of the film was greatly improved with the 3D. When he’s pouring the hot mustard into the nostrils of the beast, because of the increased depth it brings out the colors and details of the fish and the mustard better than the Blu-ray. Shortly after that, as J is sneezed through the window, the shattering glass does the same thing. You see a bit more detail in the pieces than you would get from the Blu-ray. There’s definitely a difference between the formats and the quality you get from each.
What’s great is that it doesn’t feel like gimmick. Some films do the 3D conversion and it doesn’t really work as well as it should. Warner Brother’s Clash of the Titans is one of those films. The 3D felt forced a bit. Here it fits really well and brings details, color balance and overall improvement to the film. If you need another example, look at the fight between Boris the Animal and J towards the end of the film. The details are enhanced by the 3D conversion and improved. I don’t want to give away too much, but it’s darn impressive.
Shifting gears, let’s discuss features. Here’s what to expect from MIB 3:
Blu-ray 3D
– The Case of Boris the Animal: The 3D Models of MIB 3
– Converting to 3D Featurette
Blu-ray
– Spot the Alien Game
– The Evolution of Cool: MIB 1960s vs. Today
– Keeping It Surreal: The Visual FX of MIB 3
– Scene Investigations
– Progression Reels
DVD
– Partners in Time: The Making of MIB 3
– Gag Reel
– “Back in Time” Music Video by Pitbull
The 3D features are okay. I think the 3D models feature is a bit bland, but it does look sweet in 3D. You get information about weapons and vehicles (and of course, Boris the Unpleasant). While short and sweet, I wanted more from the ‘Converting to 3D’ featurette. It was interesting to see how the process was done, but it’s under five minutes in length. I’m not sure if that’s because the disc simply ran out of space, but I wanted more from it. As for the Blu-ray features, they’re darn solid. The Spot the Alien Game is amusing, while the Evolution of Cool featurette is quite intriguing. The visual FX feature is quite good, too. Finally, the DVD features are solid. The ‘making of’ is great, it adds to the value of the package. The gag reel is hilarious. Pitbull? I would prefer Will Smith singing.