Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson give a fresh take on this "Men In Black" spin-off. But even the talented cast can’t really save the less-than humourous action flick.
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The “Men In Black” name has been around for more than 20 years, spawning 2 sequels (2002; 2012), an animated series and now, a spin-off starring Chris Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson, Liam Neeson as MiB agents, with Emma Thompson reprising her role from Men in Black 3.
In Men In Black: International, Agent H (Hemsworth) is one of the best agents serving the MIB, known for his takedown of the notorious alien with his then partner-turned-supervisor Agent High T (Neeson). A young and intelligent Molly (Thompson) witnessed her mom and dad being attacked by an alien one night, followed by MIB agents appearing in front of their homes where they wiped off her parents’ memories with a ‘neuralyzer’. Molly wasn’t affected by the zap, as she grows up being obsessed with aliens around her, and wanting to join the MIB.
Through various stakeouts and research, she finally gets her chance, but it is up to MiB chief, Agent O (Emma Thompson) to give her the green light. Molly finally gets inducted into the organisation as a probation agent but somehow partners with the arrogant Agent H to find out the truth about London’s office and the aliens surrounding it.
Tessa Thompson is a great addition to the previous all-male lead cast, not just for a fact that she adds a level of femininity into the action, her character as Agent M is full of confidence without being arrogant; an independent, no-nonsense agent with a heart full of love. Most importantly, there’s great chemistry between the leads - after all, both have starred alongside each other for Marvel’s Thor: Ragnarok and Avengers.
When it comes to villains, sure enough, the idea of aliens - good or bad - is what people expect to see, but what we have here are two shape-shifting alien bad guys that morphed into human forms, played by French dance duo Les Twins. And yes, we get to see them bust some moves as aliens-in-human-form. Their contortions make them look cool, but their zombie-like physicality throughout the film gets bored after a while. Thinking back, there wasn’t a proper resolution to their exit as well.
Humour-wise, as one would expect of a MiB show, lacks that sharp witticism and one-liners. Though the banter from the two agents plus a minuscule alien Pawney (Kumail Nanjiani) are welcoming, the greatest highlight is actually a Thor reference. Perhaps one of the weirdest jokes of all has to be a ‘guest starring-role’ by a Singapore influencer. Yes, I’m not kidding. The cinema went silent with a few gasps - not sure if the audience appreciated the gag, or it just didn’t occur to them to see a somewhat familiar Asian face that is rendered in IMAX 3D.
If you are headed to the theatre for some action-fantasy with light beams shooting across the screens, then Men In Black: International definitely delivers, but if you are there for some alien-busting, cool action fist fights, then see this an entertaining flick with a great cast.
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