Men in Black III

Not since Marty McFly sent streaks of fire hurtling through the streets of 1955 Hill Valley has a method of time travel been so exciting. In “Men in Black III,” alien-hunting MiB Agent J (Will Smith, of course) time jumps: he climbs to the 61st floor of the Chrysler Building, steps out to the edge of a stainless-steel eagle head, pops on a pair of goggles and takes a leap of faith. Like Doc Brown’s trusty DeLorean, the time-travelling gizmo clenched between Agent J’s fingers must reach a certain velocity if it is to activate, which Agent J achieves just two feet from the New York City sidewalk. It is of note that all of this occurs against the spectacular backdrop of a full-scale alien invasion.

This is one of several thrilling sequences in Barry Sonnenfeld’s mixed bag of a sci-fi comedy threequel, which lands 15 years after its dazzling original and a full decade after its dire predecessor. Another thrilling sequence is the opening, which sees butt-ugly alien prisoner Boris the Animal (Jemaine Clement of “Flight of the Conchords" fame) effortlessly escaping from the maximum-security Lunar Max prison facility on the Moon. The last of the Boglodite species, the one-armed Boris is dead-set on wiping out Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones, “No Country for Old Men”), the man who years ago robbed him of his freedom and of his aforementioned appendage.

But Boris won’t be wiping out Agent K in the traditional sense - he will be using time travel to go back to 1969, where he will kill him before he manages to disfigure Boris and send him off to space jail. This plan reveals itself to Agent J when he wakes up one morning to find himself in a world in which his partner no longer exists. In this reality, Agent K was murdered 40 years ago by - you guessed it - Boris the Animal, whose no-longer-extinct species is about to invade the planet.

So, Agent J leaps off the Chrysler Building and lands in 1969, where flower-power hippies, hairy bikers and casual racism run rampant. He meets the young Agent K, who is played by Jones’ “No Country for Old Men” co-star Josh Brolin. I must say, I was left flabbergasted by Brolin’s performance: he nails the voice, the mannerisms and the facial expressions of Jones to such a vast degree that the fact we’re not simply watching Jones splattered in make-up and prosthetics to make him appear younger (a la creepy-looking Patrick Stewart in “X-Men: The Last Stand") is truly stunning, nay unbelievable.

But it is indeed Brolin, whose chemistry with Smith is an almost spot-on recreation of the one gloriously sparked between Smith and Jones in the original “Men in Black” all the way back in 1997. The only difference now is that there is no longer a significant age gap between the two: in the film’s two predecessors, Agent K was an old and wise veteran of MiB, while Agent J was a young and foolish rookie. In “Men in Black III” they’re contemporaries, and I think I missed that generational divide - it added something to their pairing.

Together, Agents J and K attempt to stop young Boris (who is now aided by time-travelling, vengeful older Boris) from locating and destroying the ArcNet shield, which, when activated, will prevent the Boglodites from being able to invade Earth. This culminates in an action-packed climax set at Cape Canaveral during the Apollo 11 lunar rocket launch. With all the binoculars and TV cameras pointing at the momentous event, it’s anyone’s guess as to how none of this is spotted by any bystanders or news reporters.

It’s also anyone’s guess as to how “Men in Black III” works as well as it does (i.e. pretty well) when all odds seemed to be against it: not just the belated second sequel in an essentially dead franchise, its development was reportedly murder, with filming beginning before the script was anywhere near the finishing line and the whole production completely shut down midway to untie the narrative knots created by the time-travel plot. It’s a revelation that these towering road bumps aren’t particularly apparent in the film itself, which is structurally fine, easy to comprehend and narratively pleasing - that’s a lot more than I can say for “The Wolf Man” and “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra,” both of which went through similar problems and, surprise surprise, turned out to be utter rubbish.

Originally pitched by Smith on the set of “Men in Black II," the film is essentially 10 years in the making, which is perhaps too long a wait for what we have ultimately been given. But it is fun, and Sonnenfeld and screenwriter Etan Cohen (“Tropic Thunder”) have fun with the characters they create, many of which are ingeniously designed by the legendary Rick Baker. Most notably there is Boris, a sufficient antagonist, although perhaps not a deeply layered or fully menacing one. As the hideous, brutish alien, Clement unashamedly chews scenery, a feat made physically possible by the character’s jagged fangs.

We also have Agent O (Emma Thompson, “Nanny McPhee”) and Griffin (Michael Stuhlbarg, “A Serious Man”). Agent O, whose hair is a wonder, is Z’s replacement (Zed’s dead, baby) as head of MiB, and something of an old flame of Agent K; the magnificent Thompson is sadly underused. And Griffin, whose woolly cap covers an empty skull with a glowing blue orb floating inside, is an alien with the gift to simultaneously see several different versions of the near future, though he’s rarely certain of which will come true; a wide-eyed Stuhlbarg plays the character a tad too creepily, but remains fascinating throughout.

Where “Men in Black III” rightfully shows off its sharp suit and uber-cool weaponry is in the relationship between Agents J and K, even with two different performers filling the latter’s shiny black shoes. An inspired pairing in the first film, they’re awarded an unexpectedly compelling sweetness here, with J’s undying dedication to his partner and recruiter displayed in full force throughout and played convincingly and enchantingly by the ever-charming Smith (his first role since 2008’s “Seven Pounds”). And Brolin and Jones, with their sour-faced, deadpan delivery, make Agent K once again the perfectly imperfect match with Smith’s wise-cracking, smooth-talking Agent J, as ever forming an unlikely bromance to be reckoned with. To top it off, there’s a genuinely touching moment shared between the two arriving during the film’s climax that I’m not ashamed to admit very nearly made me shed a tear (that would have thankfully been hidden underneath my otherwise useless 3D glasses).

While “Men in Black II" made us all beg for the invention of a memory-erasing Neuralyzer, “Men in Black III" at least mercifully helps to sooth the pain as we patiently await its creation. As one would expect, the film showcases nifty special effects and fabulous creature designs, but also an enthralling central relationship shared between two mismatched guys in sharp suits blasting aliens to bits with high-tech ray guns, for the third time. Hampered by a disappointing lack of laughs and an insufferable earache of a theme song (performed not by Smith, but by Latin rapper Pitbull), "MiB III" is not out of this world, but I enjoyed it much more than I anticipated - suddenly “Men in Black IV” doesn’t seem such a bad idea.

6/10