Men In Black: International

Image credit: IMDb

Rebooting or remaking a franchise is always a risk, but the emotional satisfaction is so good when the gamble pays off. Of course, it does all depend on what you’re rebooting, as some films and characters pose less of a risk than others. Case in point, Men in Black and now, Men in Black: International.

The film tells the story of Molly (Tessa Thompson), a woman who saw MIB in action as a child and aspired to be one of them, so much so that she becomes the first person to apply for a job rather than be recruited. On a trial period, she’s assigned to the London branch and finds herself teamed up with MIB big-shot Agent H (Chris Hemsworth) on an escort mission. But when their ward is assassinated, their mission goes from simple to a convoluted task of saving the world from a particularly nasty scum of the universe.

After MIB 3 sort of demolished the simple and fun, sci-fi adventure vibe of the first movie, MIB International came as a nice return to that warm, popcorn flick feeling that originally made us fall in love with agents K, J, and Z. While the central story has a few twists, turns, and red herrings, there’s a nice predictability about it that allows the film to focus on its characters and their own development and stories.

The combination of Thompson and Hemsworth, which we all fell in love with in Thor Ragnarok (like basil and strawberry) works to wondrous effect here, with Hemsworth playing the arrogant, but still surprisingly competent (a la Sterling Archer) agent role to great effect, while Thompson’s confident, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed newbie role is sweet and highly relatable with.

Image credit: Gizmodo

The computer wizards, art and creature design departments give us a dazzling exhibition of what their departments are made of, with the film being filled with incredible, but still fathomable alien creatures and futuristic technology that doesn’t make one feel like they are watching a high-res sci-fi dystopia flick.

MIB International is a perfect return to the simple, enjoyable popcorn-flick vibes of the original film with a solid story, great character development, and enough shimmer, aliens, and gadgets to create a different world, but still one that we recognise and, therefore, can identify with. It’s a really good film.

Director: F. Gary Gray, 2019

Cast: Tessa Thompson, Chris Hemsworth, Liam Neeson, Kumail Nanjiani, Rebecca Ferguson, Rafe Spall, Kayvan Novak, Laurent Bourgeois, Larry Bourgeois, Spencer Wilding, and Emma Thompson