Movie Title: Men in Black: International
Genre: Sci-Fi, Action, Comedy
Writer: Art Marcum, Matt Holloway
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson, Rebecca Ferguson, Kumail Nanjiani, Rafe Spall, Laurent Bourgeois, Larry Bourgeois, Emma Thompson, Liam Neeson, Kayvan Novak, Spencer Wilding
Review: The Men in Black have expanded to cover the globe but so have the villains of the universe. To keep everyone safe, decorated Agent H (Chris Hemsworth) and determined rookie M (Tessa Thompson) join forces -- an unlikely pairing that just might work. When aliens that can take the form of any human arrive on Earth, H and M embark on a globe-trotting adventure to save the agency -- and ultimately the world -- from their mischievous plans.
Men in Black: International is technically a sequel to Men in Black 3, despite the fact that Emma Thompson is the only carry over from that film's cast. This film introduces two new leads into the Men in Black universe in Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson who have a history starring alongside one another in Thor: Ragnarok and Avengers: Endgame. I am a big fan of both of these actors and I think they have undeniable chemistry on-screen, but even that isn't enough to pull this film from a state of mediocrity. This film does nothing to separate itself from previous films in the franchise. Yes, the characters are different, but a large majority of the plot remains the same. This film comes across as undeveloped and nothing more than a cash grab aimed at attracting Men in Black fans and capitalizing on Hemsworth and Thompson's recent success. Not only is the plot a complete rehashing of prior installments, but it's all too predictable, even to the point where the big reveal isn't really a reveal but more of an inevitability. I did like Kumail Nanjiani's Pawny character, who is a tiny alien that H and M befriend along their travels. I thought he provided a lot of comic relief and along with Hemsworth and Thompson, brought a charming and silly element to a film that desperately needed it. Those 3 characters kept the film at least mildly entertaining and a little less frustrating. While it may sound like I hate this movie, I did find it to be mostly palatable, but I don't think I would ever consider going out of my way to watch it again. This movie comes across as the type of film that would air on TBS at 2 o'clock on a Saturday afternoon, that you might watch if you were hungover and couch ridden for the day. Give it a watch if you're a Men in Black fan or a fan of the genre, but don't expect anything that you haven't seen before.
Fun Fact: The film was originally going to be a "Jump Street" - "Men in Black" crossover with Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill reprising their roles. However, plans fell apart, so it became a spin-off, with Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson.