Men in Black: International holds back on a lot of potential fun

Men in Black: International holds back on the weirdness that makes the series so fun and unique, playing it safe with a predictable plot.

Nowadays, it’s all about milking every cent you can out of a beloved and successful franchise. As much as this fad has failed, Hollywood continues to do this. In the case of Men in Black: International, it comes close to succeeding. Here’s how it wins and fails.

On the plus side, MIB: International packs a fun cast that includes Tessa Thompson, Chris Hemsworth, Liam neeson, and Emma Thompson. A talented bunch that truly bring life to the movie. However, even this great cast can’t do much against a predictable and weak story.

Men in Black: International follows Molly (Tessa Thompson) after her parents find a strange creature in their own backyard. The MIB arrive and neuralyze the parents, but believe Molly is sleeping so they skip her. Molly does not forget. In fact, after encountering the alien, she becomes obsessed with finding the men in black.

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Molly is quickly hired, proving her worth, and begins to go by “M.” She teams up with Agent H (Hemsworth) and on their first mission they learn that someone within their own organization is not one of their own. It’s up to Agent M, Agent H and Pawny (voiced by Kumail Nanjiani) to find out who the betrayer is.

The culprit? Well, we won’t spoil that here, but don’t worry, it’s very easy to figure that out, as well as many of the movie’s plots and outcomes. MIB: International plays it too safe and this ends up hurting the quality of the movie.

Thanks to the cast, particularly Nanjiani’s hilarious Pawny, the movie is watchable and has several fun moments. Overall, however, it’s forgettable. Not one scene or moment stands out, there aren’t even any memorable lines.

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If a sequel is to follow, many changes need to be made (we’ll have to wait and see how well it performce at the box office this weekend, as well). This MIB reboot needs to bring back what makes the original series so fun, including its silly surprises, repulsive aliens (which MIB: International severely lacked in) and risky plots. The only thing this movie gets right is the genius pairing of Thompson and Hemsworth.

Despite it all, I really see potential here and I dare say I would like to see the cast and crew involved give this MIB revival another shot.

Men in Black: International is now playing in theaters.