Men In Black: International Movie Review

By: Lynn Barker

After Men in Black 3, MIB has branched out to London where agent H (Chris Hemsworth), once top notch, has gained a rep for kicking back a bit too much. After a childhood alien sighting that summoned the Men in Black, Molly (Tessa Thompson) is determined to join them and, after twenty years, tracks down the U.S. headquarters where leader Agent O (Emma Thompson) makes her a probationary agent in the London office. Head of branch High T (Liam Neeson) assigns her to work with agent H to stop new alien attacks while sniffing out a mole in the organization.

Men In Black: International - Trailer #3

H and M make a good teamCourtesy of Sony Pictures

Early Encounter

Young Molly finds a cute, furry alien in her room. Dad has also seen it and the Men in Black arrive, neuralize (wipe that memory from) both parents but don’t know that Molly has befriended the alien and helps him escape.  He vows (in his language) to kill anyone she tells him to in future.

20 Years Later

A grown-up Molly asks the FBI and CIA if she can join the Men in Black but they seem to not know what she’s talking about. After hacking into NASA’s computer, she follows a probable spaceship to an odd spot in Brooklyn where she discovers a kind of cloaking device hiding the MIB clean up operation. She follows the men to the New York headquarters, talks her way in but is discovered and sent to top agent O who, at first, wants to neuralize her but admires her tenacity and spunk so makes her a probationary agent M and trains her.

Agent O adds Agent M to her staffCourtesy of Sony Pictures

In London and Beyond

Agent H is busy blowing his cover during an alien card game and ends up sleeping with the enemy, an alien girl with tentacles.  Agent M meets Agent H and both report to High T who is disappointed in H’s recent hijinks and impressed with M.

Finding clues in MarrakeshCourtesy of Sony Pictures

In Marrakesh, two, scary, electrically-powered aliens arrive, turn a guy to mush and duplicate his appearance. They go see the Queen of a tiny race called Pawns who have helped them kill other aliens before. This time they refuse.

Pawny is the last of his peopleCourtesy of Sony Pictures

New Assignment

H, who, along with T, wiped out evil aliens called The Hive in the past, gets to a meeting late to learn that the dangerous arriving aliens want to kill Vungus, a member of another alien royal family. Since H knows him from the past, he is to be his guardian/chaperone while he’s on the town. M pretends to know all about Vungus’s race so H takes her along.

Agent M wants to come alongCourtesy of Sony Pictures

At a club, the two evil aliens arrive, shoot a high tech dart at Vungus who gets sick. H and M put him in a cab which blows up injuring Vungus. After a gunfight, M rushes to the alien but he is dying and gives her a strange, small pointed object telling her not to trust H. He has changed and there is a mole (undercover agent) inside Men in Black.

Gun fight to save alien VungusCourtesy of Sony Pictures

Back in Marrakesh

H and M are sent back to Marrakesh where they find a tiny alien soldier is the only survivor of the massacre of his people the Pawns by the new aliens. Needing a queen to obey, he swears to protect M as his new Queen and she names him Pawny.  H and M are told that the device M is hiding was stolen by Vungus from his people. It is a very powerful weapon. Evidently the new aliens want it. After escaping the bad guy aliens on an alien motorcycle which crashes in the desert, M picks up the device, it turns into a gun-like weapon that runs on the power of a compressed star.. it’s nuclear and very dangerous. Another tiny alien we saw in town has stowed away and steals the device.

After cycle crash, M discovers the weaponCourtesy of Sony Pictures

Riza’s Lair

It is reasoned that alien Riza (Rebecca Ferguson) a famous arms dealer whom H used to date, was given the weapon to sell to the highest bidder. H goes to her isolated island fortress seemingly alone but M hides in the boat bringing the agents there. M almost gets the weapon back but Riza discovers her and grabs it again. M figures out that Riza’s bodyguard, a huge blue thug, is the grown-up version of the alien she saved so long ago.  Will he switch to her side when he recognizes her? Who will get the dangerous weapon and who is the traitor inside MIB?

Making an escape on the alien cycleCourtesy of Sony Pictures

Wrapping Up

We saw Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson co-star in the funny Thor: Ragnarok and their cute chemistry works here too although their dialogue isn’t as hilarious as the banter between Agent J (Will Smith) and sourpuss Agent K (Tommy  Lee Jones) in the original MIB films.

Cocky Agent H at London HQCourtesy of Sony Pictures

It is fun that a woman field agent is added to the MIB force in a more prominent role and also gratifying for fans of these films, however briefly, to see Frank the Pug and the little stick guys in a couple of quick cameos. All new aliens created for the movie are certainly varied and CGI-wonderful. They’re a visually clever treat.

All Men in Black aren't humanCourtesy of Sony Pictures

The movie could have been so much funnier. It comes off as bland. It’s easy to figure out who the mole is and the new enemy’s goals are rather vague. A sequel this long in coming (the last MIB film was out in 2012) should bring something new to the table, something that really ups the stakes but this adventure plays like the very first MIB although it’s not supposed to be a remake/reboot.

Vungus dies in a crashed cabCourtesy of Sony Pictures

Not an awful movie and entertaining at times, Men in Black: International still doesn’t really reach its potential. We can award three stars.

Men In Black: International Movie Rating: 

Courtesy of Sony Pictures

See Men In Black: International in theaters now!

What Do You Think?

Are you a fan of these films (having seen most on Blu-ray or DVD)? Do you feel that the new team of Hemsworth and Thompson is just as entertaining as Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones were? Do you just enjoy the films to see all the cool aliens? Tell your fellow Kidzworld visitors by leaving a comment and/or something on your profile page.