Men in Black III:

Something borrowed, something old

Ruwini Jayawardana

Nearly 15 years ago Barry Sonnenfeld's Men in Black (MIB) first hit the screen and caused a phenomenon. Helmed by vocalist turned actor Will Smith, the film's sequel made it to the spotlight in 2002 and was received with less enthusiasm.

Will Smith as Agent J and Tommy Lee Jones as Agent K

Alien invasion

Not to be discouraged by the lack of interest, the team had made another shot at reviving the series with its 2012 production: MIB3. The film, which is currently screening at Majestic Cineplex, flows along the theme set by its predecessors - a secret government agency patrolling extraterrestrial activity on Earth.

Smith and Tommy Lee Jones re-team as agents J and K to save the earth from Jermaine Clement's interstellar alien assassin Boris the Animal. Breaking out of a lunar prison, Boris time-travels into the past to 1969 to kill the younger Agent K so that he will not lose his arm or be put away. Through this he will also ensure the destruction of the earth by bringing his home species to the land. The result is that Agent J too travels back in time to prevent any of these episodes from taking place. There he meets a younger K and coaxes him into hunting down Boris and killing him off instead of imprisoning him so that the elder K and peace will exist in the future world. He also stumbles upon the discovery about why K remains tight lipped and refuses to open up to him.

The plot of MIB3 is dull especially because J and the younger K spend a bulk of their time trying to catch up with Boris and play one step ahead of him.

Unfortunately the elder Boris is also in the scene and knows the team's original plans. This turn of events offers nothing new to movie buffs because this formula has been tried and tested before in many time-travel related movies.

MIB3 lacks the excitement generated by other extraterrestrial related movies like The X-Files and ET, action movies like The Bourne trilogy or even comedies like Johnny English. However a few delightful and genuinely funny moments crop up in least expected moments. The episode in which J tries to explain how he came to refer to K by his name and later blurts out even O's name deserves a few laughs. Also the change of environs from modern times to the late '60s gives the settings an appealing twist.

Tommy Lee Jones' performance should be noted in this film for he plays the elder version with a younger version of K in mind. The actor has done exceptionally well to distinguish the two by altering the rhythm and tone of his voice to suit that of Josh Brolin who plays his younger self. Though the role does not demand any serious acting on his part, Will Smith is totally likable as Agent J. He does not bring anything new to his performance and therefore J's character does not embody any unique traits.

Jermaine Clement is commendable in his grotesque presentation of Boris while Michael Stuhlbarg stands out as, Griffin, an alien with precognitive powers - the only character that is not stereotyped in the movie. While the actors are getting older, the film's plot does not seem to mature with them. Instances like the kitchen shooting scene between the agents and aliens which seem to be inserted merely for entertainment purposes but turn out to be almost childish and the turn of events at the party that J and K gatecrashes into are a few such good examples. With such features added to spice up the tale it is clear that there is much room for improvement in MIB3. The strength of the movie is, unfortunately, in its finale. The moment where J discovers the true identity of his father and the role K had played in his life is emotional and will no doubt touch many a heart. Whether the audience will tolerate the film so far to witness this truly beautiful scene is a question which is worth some thought.