Men in Black: International is a lifeless chore that does its franchise no favours.
Men in Black: International Synopsis
Young Molly Wright’s parents were neurolysed for an alien encounter at their home but she was spared for the agents thought she was asleep. Since then, she devotes her life to joining the MIB, finally succeeding after she manages to tail agents back to their base. For her first mission, she is assigned to London, where she meets the suave but unruly Agent H. Together with H, Molly investigates the assassination of a prominent alien royal. In the process, she discovers all is not as it seems with the London branch.
Snappy Review
Going by its casts and heritage, Men in Black: International has a lot going for it, yes?
Its leads are fresh off Endgame, with the benefits of familiarity and chemistry, and buckets of audience love.
The premise is potent too, in spite of a previous flop in the franchise. With today’s CGI, wouldn’t you agree so much more can be done with the aliens or weapons? And oh, Danny Elfman is again responsible for the soundtrack. You might not like his signature macabre flavour, but it’s a challenge to say his compositions are uninteresting.
And yet, yet, while watching the movie last night, so many things felt forgotten to me. It was almost as if the movie itself was the victim of a Neuralyzer.
The story wasn’t unappealing, put it that way, but there certainly wasn’t any emotional engagement too. While the acting wasn’t awful, the leads did little more than read the scripts.
Even the humour is half-hearted. Most of the gags forget their drive before they are halfway through.
If I had to put it down to one complaint, I’d say the movie has no life. Despite the exotic aliens and snazzy weapons, life is markedly absent from the whole show. This is such a shame, IMO, because by all measures, any MIB story is capable of so much more.
But I guess the lure of a fast cash-grab using Endgame leads is just too great. Along the way, everyone forgets it’s always necessary to update and review. Relying on attractive names is just a tenth of the game.
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