‘Men in Black 3’ sequel sucks some of the fun out of the franchise

The thing that defined the first two Men in Black films wasn’t just the opposites-attract chemistry between the garrulous Agent J (Will Smith) and the intensely quiet Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones). It was also the fact that these two sharply dressed agents had an ability to seek out and adroitly zap offbeat aliens to pieces with their ray guns before the creatures could wreak havoc on the planet.

While Men in Black 3 begins with a thrilling scene in which J and K do battle with a variety of creatures that look like extras from the cantina scene in Star Wars, the man vs. alien clever banter and fight scenes are few and far between in this follow up to 2002’s Men in Black II. The initial encounter, which takes place in a Chinese restaurant, sets up a rather convoluted plot that involves some ultimately highly illogical time travel and one Boris the Animal (Jemaine Clement), who has just escaped from a lunar prison where he has been imprisoned since 1969 – the year that Agent K captured him and sent him to the slammer. Thanks to a time travel device, Boris is able to go back in time to kill K and prevent him from putting up a shield to protect the Earth from the Boglodites, the alien race to which Boris belongs.

In order to save the world from an alien invasion, Agent J has only 24 hours to go back to the year 1969 and ensure that Boris doesn’t kill K. Once he travels through time, J meets a much younger Agent K (Josh Brolin) and convinces him that he’s come from the future to help save the world. Receiving help from a friendly alien Griffin (Michael Stuhlbarg), who can see into the future, the two work in tandem to take on Boris, who proves to be a fierce enemy.

The film’s strength lies in the casting of Brolin as the young Agent K. Brolin, who starred alongside Jones in No Country For Old Men, brilliantly captures K’s quirky mannerisms. Brolin, who so expertly captured the essence of George W. Bush in Oliver Stone’s W., steals the show here, particularly since the film doesn’t give the rest of the talented cast much room to play. That said, Struhlbarg deserves kudos for making the most of his small role in this sequel that’s not likely to re-launch the franchise.