Review - Men in Black: International (2019)

         Hey guys, Chuck here. A couple years back, I reviewed the Men in Black trilogy as part of Will Smith Month. Well, it's taken a while to get around to doing so, but I did promise to review Men in Black: International, a 2019 spin-off movie starring Chris Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson, Liam Neeson, Kumail Nanjiani, Rebecca Ferguson, and Emma Thompson, and directed by F. Gary Gray. Well, today, I'm finally keeping my promise and reviewing Men in Black: International. So, here we go. 

        The movie establishes that the Men in Black organization is spread across the Earth, with our main focus being the London branch of MIB, with its chief being an agent named High T. We open with High T, along with Agent H, in Paris in the year 2016, as they attempted to thwart the arrival of an alien force called The Hive. We then cut to 1996 Brooklyn, where a little girl named Molly Wright witnesses her parents being questioned by agents of MIB, who are looking for an alien called that is hiding in their home. The alien is set free by Molly, and her parents are neuralyzed. In the present day, Molly still remembers the incident, and is looking to join whichever government agency is responsible for monitoring alien activity on Earth, eventually finding the MIB. 

       Upon sneaking into MIB headquarters, Molly is questioned and nearly neuralyzed. However, one of the agents points out to the MIB chief, Agent O, that in the past, the agency would have recruited Molly immediately for accomplishing such an impressive feat. O, after speaking with Molly, agrees to make her a recruit, puts her through standard MIB training, and makes her a probationary agent, Agent M. M is then sent to the London branch of MIB, where she is partnered with H. 

       What follows is a globe trotting journey where, after the death of an alien named Vungus, M is handed a gem that happens to be an all-powerful alien weapon containing a compressed Blue Giant. We also see an alien entity that takes the form of twins, and it is believed that they are part of the Hive. However, H and M, after escaping Marrakesh with a tiny alien named Pawny, are then forced to head to the hideout of an alien arms dealer named Riza Stavros, who just so happens to be an ex-girlfriend of H. And, while they're nearly killed, Riza's bodyguard Luca Brasi recognizes M from when she was a child, calling her Molly. High T and the rest of MIB arrive, destroy the Twins, and collect the weapon. 

       Back in London, H and M realize that the Twins were after the weapon as it was their only defense AGAINST the Hive, and the only one that provided Hive DNA was High T, who never took the weapon to lockup, and is making his way to the Eiffel Tower in Paris, where H and High T first attempted to stop the Hive. However, because H can't recall the battle, M realizes he was neuralyzed. So, the duo work together to defeat High T and stop the Hive for good. For a job well done, O promotes M to full agent status, while named H as chief of MIB's London branch on a probationary basis. H and M take off for one last ride together, before M is sent back to New York. 

      So, while not nearly as good as the original trilogy with Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith, Men in Black: International is still a pretty fun expansion of the Men in Black franchise. Both Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson have really good chemistry, and they bounced off each other pretty well. Liam Neeson was a pretty interesting villain, as an MIB chief overtaken by an alien entity. And, it was some really smart continuity with Men in Black 3 to still have Emma Thompson's Agent O be the chief of MIB. 

    The visual effects were decent, the alien designs definitely fit well in this universe, and the weapon and vehicle designs were definitely on point with the previous three Men in Black movies. But, the story just feels a bit too pedestrian by comparison to the original three movies in the Men in Black franchise. But, I still enjoyed this one, and I'll still pop it on every once in a while. Just, not as often as the other three. I'm giving Men in Black: International a rating of 3.95/5. 

      Alright guys, this is Chuck signing off. Next time, we'll be diving back into the world of Marvel with X-Men '97.