Men in Black 3 was released in 2012, and was directed by Barry Sonnenfeld. The film stars Will Smith, Josh Brolin, and Tommy Lee Jones. The continuation of Agent J and Agent K’s partnership in the secret organization known as the Men In Black, sees J needing to time travel back to 1969 in order to stop his partner from being killed and set things back to the way they always were. 

     Will Smith is very well rounded in his performance as Agent J. He hits the comedy punching bag almost perfectly, but can also take the gloves off and be very serious when needed. As much as Smith’s acting is good, Josh Brolin as a younger version of Agent K, whose older version is played by Tommy Lee Jones, should not be overlooked. Brolin does a great job at not only playing and sounding like a younger version of K, but also a younger version of Jones. Brolin and Smith’s continuing banting with one another is a joy to watch. Both versions of K are very good. Jemaine Clement as Boris the Animal, is very over the top. But I think it works for the world they’ve set up with the other Men in Black films. 

     The script is funny, and the story is good. There were a couple times I was laughing out loud. It does a really good job at making exposition feel natural. The way they tie character’s history into the story is sublime, but there are many, many plot holes. They have entire scenes dedicated to establishing a certain plot point, and then just end up completely ignoring what was established. There is one HUGE plot point in particular, which is very essential to the plot, that they just forget about so that they can have a cool action scene. 

     Sonnefeld’s directing style does nothing but add to the atmosphere of the Men in Black franchise. There are a few moments that are really funny only because the directing blends well with the comedy. The editing is a bit rough though, and the film does suffer from some match to action problems. But they aren’t a big issues unless you’re really looking for them. 

     Men in Black 3 needs some work on the script, but the pros outweigh the cons. 

[My grade for Men in Black 3 is a B-]