Men in Black 3

Movie Name: Men in Black 3

Year of Release: 2012

Director: Barry Sonnenfeld

Stars: Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin, Emma Thompson, Jemaine Clement, Michael Stuhlbarg, Alice Eve, David Rasche, Bill Hader, Mike Colter, Michael Chernus

Genre: Comedy, Action

Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 5

Synopsis:

Barry Sonnenfeld's new feature film, six years after "RV", is the third installment of the franchise he started in 1997, which was followed by a lackluster sequel in 2002, "Men in Black". The film follows the two main characters, agents J and K, who have to battle a dangerous alien who escaped a prison situated on the moon. The dangerous alien goes back in time, forty years specifically, to prevent Agent K from arresting him. It's up to J to go back in time and prevent the future from being altered and Earth from being invaded by an alien race.
"Men in Black 3" was plagued by production problems, mostly having to deal with the script, which had to be reworked around the section of the film that takes place in 1969 (which forced the production of the film to be paused for 6 weeks). That's precisely the problem with the film - the pacing in the midsection is forced and contrived, losing a lot of the wit and charm that Josh Brolin brings to the film as the younger K. The film winks an eye at the civil rights movement, but it's barely there. The actors try as much as they can to make the screenplay work, but by the time the final act appears, everything in the action is occurring by the numbers. This franchise always had a great sense of humor to it, and it does show on occasion, but unless the quality of the writing improves, this is one series that should end at this point. A sadly missed opportunity.