Men in Black 3 (2012)

Men in Black 3 (2012)

I have been a fan of the Men in Black movies since the original released in 1997. When MIB-II was finally out in 2002, I wondered why it took so long as Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith seemed to work so well together, and their characters had that just right mix of complementing but contradicting personalities.

Jones has long been a favorite of mine with some other highlight performances being the delightfully crazy villain in Under Siege (1992) and the hard nosed cop in The Fugitive (1993) and U.S. Marshalls (1998). His ability to make a facial expression the equivalent of the picture's 1000 words imho is up there with Humphrey Bogart.

Smith has distinguished himself in action, comedy, and drama films alike. He is a quite versatile actor whose movies I will gladly check out just because he is starring.

With MIB 3 coming another 10 years after MIB II, I once again wonder what took so long. While Jones's part as "K" is not so prominent as in the prior releases, he does well as the present day character. Smith follows the formula as "J" although the interaction with old "K" is a tad forced.

The pleasant realization is that Josh Brolin performs admirably as the past, younger "K." Brolin is certainly a fine actor in his own right, but his effective portrayal of Jones' character is nothing short of remarkable. The key to the plot is that Brolin is "K" before whatever happened that turned "K" into such a detached curmudgeon.

Also juicy was the villain's part done by Jermaine Clement as Boris (the animal).

Besides all the action and suspense you expect with the good guys vs. bad guy alien stuff, and the touches of comedy here and there to break it up, there is a dramatic and quite poignant and touching twist that comes out of nowhere that answers why "K" appears to be such an unemotional person, and why "K" has such regard for "J." Top quality actors and performances, well done script, yeah, this one's a keeper.