Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1151507
8 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 4 AUGUST 2019 FILM FILM Saying that veteran journey- man director F. Gary Gray had 'big shoes to fill' when he was placed at the helm of the long- gestating fourth installment of the Men in Black franchise would not exactly be all that accurate a statement. While the 1997 debut installment was certainly a bona fide phe- nomenon, its sequels never quite managed to recapture the attention-grabbing, zany momentum of the first mis- sion undergone by Agent K (the sandpaper-dry Tommy Lee Jones) and his new recruit Agent J (a characteristically in- defatigable Will Smith); even if third time did prove to be something of a charm, with the time-hopping Men in Black 3 (2012), delivering some well- executed and likeable aliens- and-espionage joy. But perhaps appropriately given its subject matter and despite its successful run at the box office and the critics' press, MIB: III also felt like the relic of another (albeit still relatively recent) time: a pop culture environment where Will Smith would be expected to re- lease an accompanying hit single for the MTV circuit, and where such genre blockbusters would not have been eclipsed in both reach and relevance by the su- perhero behemoth in tone, scope and humourous beats (MIB actu- ally finds something of a spiritual predecessor in The Guardians of the Galaxy franchise). So it's hardly surprising that Gray – a largely style-less though undeniably versatile director with credits like The Negotiator (1999), Straight Outta Compton (2015) and the Fate of the Furi- ous (2017) to his name – took the same devil-may-care approach that gave MIB III its edge while also tapping into the talent pool of the superhero cinematic uni- verse to deliver Men in Black: International. Reuniting former Thor: Ragn- arok (2017) cast members Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thomp- son, Men in Black: International casts Liam Neeson as the osten- sible replacement for the strait- laced leader role of Tommy Lee Jones, slotting him in as the appropriately-named 'High T', the leader of MIB's UK branch whose predilection for Agent H (Hemsworth) begins to flag as the maverick spy's methods grow sloppier by the minute – a fact noticed with worry and per- haps just a little bit of glee by his erstwhile competitor within the bureau, the strait-laced Agent C (Rafe Spall). But H's days are given back some zing when he finds himself saddled with a new partner – the Men In Black- curious Molly Wright (Thomp- son), a civilian who breaks into the bureau after a behind-the- curtains encounter with the Men in Black leaves her with an obses- sive streak about everything they do. Reluctantly inducted into the MIB on a probationary basis by Agent O (Emma Thompson), Molly becomes Agent M and teams up with H on what initially appears to be a fairly standard bit of information gathering. But their nightclub encounter with alien royalty Vungus the Ugly (Kayvan Novak) quickly turns into a universe-saving affair, as conspiracy upon conspiracy unravels, pinballing our freshly- minted duo across alien-infiltrat- ed hotspots across the globe. Marred by production troubles which certainly account for its equally pinballing shifts in tone and plot tempo, Men In Black International is about as good as you'd expect a reheated franchise entry to be, but not all that much better. In other words, it's a ser- viceable romp with occasion- ally good jokes and some decent special effects, but it fails to live up to its hard efforts at charming the pans out of its audience. The net result is that it grates in com- parison to its bigger mainstream forebears, not least because you literally have Thor (Hemsworth) and Valkyrie (Thompson) head- lining the affair (and of course, there is a hammer gag wedged in). That said, Hemsworth and Thompson's chemistry is the best thing about it – self-depre- cating enough to get away with a lot, and refreshingly shorn of any retrograde romantic overtones. Neither is it the case that the story isn't packed with poten- tial, nor that its supporting play- ers aren't inspiringly sketched, or that their actors don't have enough game. Mission Impos- sible veteran Rebecca Ferguson camps it up as a ludicrously- wigged space gangster, and the pocket-sized worrywort alien Pawny, voiced by comedian Ku- mail Nanjiani and strung along on the trip with our heroes, offers inspiring moments of levity and deflation throughout. It's just that franchise magic needs a concerted team effort – nay, a symphonic one – to truly shine. Otherwise, all that's left is a fun piece of pulp that feels like a muddled trudge for too long a chunk of its running time. While fourth time may not exactly be a charm, F. Gary Gray's attempt at resurrecting the Will Smith/ Tommy Lee Jones alien espionage franchise goes a long way, in large part thanks to the natural charm of its leading duo MEN IN BLACK MAN IN BLACK BACK TO BLACK IN THE BLACK DARKNESS, IMPRISONING ME ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ The verdict With a pair of inspired leads and a well-imagined conspiracy storyline and charming supporting char- acters, this should have been an easy winner. Alas, behind-the-scenes drama must surely have contrib- uted to churning out an end result that's marked more by shoddy pacing and try- hard attempts at constant humour. Teodor Reljic ★ ★ ★ ★ M E N I N B L A C K : I N T E R N AT I O N A L ( 12 A ) Not-so-odd couple: Tessa Thompson and Chris Hemsworth reunite on screen for this well-meaning but poorly paced attempt at franchise revival On the road with the international persons of mystery