Flat script leaves actors hanging
If this is how the “Men in Black” franchise is supposed to revive itself, someone is going to have to come up with another idea.
This is not to say that “Men in Black: International” is awful. It’s not — not even close. It’s mildly diverting, occasionally engaging, certifiably workmanlike and too flat an experience to inspire any strong feelings, positive or negative. It’s just there.
It’s disappointing, even if you approach it not expecting much. For example, the one sure thing going in was the teaming of Tessa Thompson and Chris Hemsworth, who made a charismatic and comic combination in “Thor: Ragnarok.” But this time, their characters, as well as the nature of their interaction, prevents them from establishing a winning rapport.
Here, M (Thompson) is a novice, a government agent serving her probationary period, so she must be diffident, at least as diffident as Thompson can manage. And H (Chris Hemsworth) is slightly off. He’s blithe and funny, but there’s something scattered about his behavior that doesn’t feel right, neither to us nor M. So she’s watching him, and we’re watching them, all of us feeling uneasy, and none of us having a particularly good time.
The best section in the movie comes early. It shows how M had an alien encounter as a child and grew up determined to join the Men in Black. It shows how she tracks the agency’s secret location and finds her way to the woman in charge. The boss turns out to be played by Emma Thompson, who is in two scenes, and she’s perfect, weary and sardonic.
Once M is an agent, she tags along with H on what seems to be a routine assignment, and this is where “Men in Black: International” loses its glow. Like few movies, “International” begins well and ends well. But in the middle, there’s a bland stretch that lasts no longer than 90 minutes.
Most of the movie involves the effort to recover what looks like an odd, violetcolored piece of jewelry. There are two powerful entities going around searching for it, and it’s understood that it’s essential that they not find it. Do you feel the tension? Is this grabbing your interest? Of course not. The story isn’t much.
The movie’s real invention and energy can be found in its design — for example, the back seat of a New York taxi that transforms into an elevator. Or the supersonic subway system that connects New York with all the major capitals of Europe. Or in the funny little animated guy that’s voiced by Kumail Nanjiani.
Perhaps it’s just in the
nature of the “Men in Black” movies to be on the bleak side. Basically, it depicts a world in its last throes of seeming normal. A series of allied government agencies are trying to hold back the tide, but the world is in a perilous place, heading for obliteration or disaster. To live on the Earth in this period of history is like living in coastal Britain in the 9th century, 10 minutes before the Vikings show up.
There’s the peace of mind of knowing nothing — soon to be followed by the horror of having a clue. It’s not a world I’d want to inhabit, or even spend time watching, but people who love the previous movies might find something to enjoy here.