The Agency's Posts

Movies that Tony Scott left behind: The filmmaker was developing projects, including a 'Top Gun' sequel. Their futures are unknown.....
Read More>

Late Night: Meryl Streep is game for Jack Nicholson (just playing): Meryl Streepmight be one of the world’s most acclaimed performers, but that doesn’t....
Read More>

'Expendables 2' beats out 'ParaNorman,' 'Sparkle,' 'Timothy Green': "The Expendables 2"may have knocked out the competition at the box office this....
Read More>

Take Two Explosions and Call Me in the Morning: Just when you think the action-hero-filled“Expendables 2”has forgotten that this....
Read More>

Feverishly Pursuing a Nondigital Chase: Joseph Gordon-Levitt Dodges Traffic in ‘Premium Rush’ IT took a lot of nerve for....
Read More>

'Smash' to deliver a 'Will & Grace' reunion in Season 2: Well, you can't blame NBC for trying. With the Broadway-focused musical series"Smash&quo
Read More>

Snoop Lion: 'La La La' and a rapper's transition into reggae: What's a reggae song without the lingo? What's a lion without a roar? These and other mystical....
Read More>

Television review: Matthew Perry is best thing about 'Go On': The new NBC sitcom starring the former 'Friends' star as a Type A sports talk radio host show has....
Read More>

Review: 'Total Recall' insists you won't believe it: 'Total Recall' has a believable lead in Colin Farrell, but the rest of it, though fun at times,....
Read More>

She's Everything He Wants, and Therein Lies the Problem: Ruby Sparks, Written by and Starring Zoe Kazan "Ruby Sparks" stars Paul Dano and....
Read More>

Giving a Voice to a Big-Picture Thinker: Ai WeiWei: Never Sorry, on the Chinese Artist Ai Weiwei, right, in the new film of his....
Read More>

Timid Close Encounters of the Small-Town Kind: The Watch, With Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn From left, Jonah Hill, Ben Stiller, Richard....
Read More>

Meet the Murderer, the Best of a Bad Lot: Killer Joe, Directed by William Friedkin Matthew McConaughey in "Killer Joe."....
Read More>

The Fretful Birth of the New Western: Kirk Douglas in “Lonely Are the Brave” (1962), adapted from a novel by Edward....
Read More>
'Men in Black 3': Third time has charm, but moves pretty slow ✭✭ 1/2
Posted on: 05/25/12
Share/Save/Bookmark
 

Josh Brolin impersonating the young Tommy Lee Jones is worth the price of admission to "Men in Black 3." Dry, drawling, deadpan, he nails the flinty Texan in this sentimental sequel to the sci-fi comedies about secret agents in black suits who save the world from aliens.

We have to meet the young Agent K because an alien serial killer who isn't fond of his nickname, "Boris the Animal" (Jemaine Clement), has traveled back in time to save the arm that Agent K shot off in 1969, and avoid the 40-year prison sentence that followed.

And that bit of time travel means that Agent J (Will Smith) must go back and rescue his future partner, played by Jones through three films as a laconic loner who has saved the world a few times and doesn't brag about it.

Ten years have passed, and everybody involved is much older now. The head of the agency (Rip Torn) is buried in an early scene. Emma Thompson, in the silliest scene of her big-screen career, takes over. But before she can explain to Agent J what Agent K means when he says "Don't ask questions you don't want the answer to," Boris escapes from the super-secret lunar prison, and the Agent K of the past and Earth of the present are in peril.

That leaves an awful lot of this movie in the usually capable hands of Will Smith. But if director Barry Sonnenfeld, who hasn't been funny in this century, has lost his fastball, Smith has lost a step or two running the bases. It's a movie of scattered chuckles before he manages to deliver his first big laugh, 45 minutes in. Sonnenfeld's full-screen close-ups (his theory of comedy is that it is in your face, literally) catch Smith pasting what he has decided is a funny expression on his face, and freezing it through an entire scene.

Still, this is comedy packed with possibilities, many of which pay off. The black Man in Black time-travels to 1969, "not the best time for your people," J is warned. Race isn't his big problem. Racing to save victims of Boris before they get murdered is.

Brolin, as the young Western swing fan Agent K, does that "surly Elvis thing" that Jones mastered for the older K. A scattering of hippies, an impending moon shot and antique future tech (the Men in Black were ahead of their time, even then) are played for laughs.

But there's no urgency to this, no insistence to the humor. Sonnenfeld's whiplash-quick "Addams Family" and "Men in Black" movies were sprints compared to this ambling follow-up.

We find out the secret behind supermodels (they're all aliens) and Andy Warhol (Bill Hader of "Saturday Night Live"). And we meet an alien who sees every version of the future, whose eyes moisten over the coming of the "Miracle Mets" of '69. Michael Stuhlbarg plays this fellow with a Clarence-the-Angel ("It's a Wonderful Life") glimmer and sets the tone for the film's third act, which manages a lump in the throat or two.

Sequels are almost by definition let-downs. But sometimes it's enough to want a movie to work, to want a genuinely funny filmmaker to regain a little of his lost form, for Josh Brolin to come along and firmly take the mantle of man's man/ funnyman from the actor who made humorless so damned hilarious, way back when.

COMMENTS
Be the first to post a comment!


Post A Comment:




  • It's 2020! Start booking roles in commercials, fashion, films, theater and more with The Agency Online!

  • NEW WORKSHOP with Barbara Barna & Sean De Simone!

    Hi Everyone and Happy Summer! Sean at Sean De Simone casting and Barbara Barna are teaming up for a super informative and fun Hosting for Home Shopping workshop. A great opportunity for established or experienced TV Hosts and Experts interested in learning how to get noticed and how to get in....
  • MASTERCLASS W. Robin Carus & David John Madore

    A Special Offer for the Agency Community, from one of our favorite NYC Casting Directors! EMAIL FacetheMusicWithUs@gmail.com Or Eventbrite To Sign Up! Class Size is Limited.
  • Don't Fall Into The Comparison Trap

    Hi Everyone! As the second installment in an ongoing series of features by the Agency's amazing community, here's some sage advice from our own Regina Rockensies; a humble (& awesome)veteran we've had the pleasure of working with for a long time. Have an excellent week! : ) - The Agency....
  • One Model's Agreement

    Hi Everyone! As the first piece in an ongoing series of original articles by the Agency community, here's a short reflection on some of the values of professional acting & modeling that we can all keep in mind for our next casting. Good luck on your castings &shoots this week! : ) -....




 
home       castings&news       privacy policy       terms and conditions      contact us      browser tips
Official PayPal Seal