The fourth film in the MIB franchise is the second-worst MIB film after Men in Black II. The original and Men in Black III were the only good ones. International amounts to a wasted opportunity, an admirable attempt to restart things with a mostly new cast that doesn’t quite hit all its marks. Replacing Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones—along with Josh Brolin as the young Tommy Lee Jones—are Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson, as agents H and M. H is the bold, brash, superhot dude of MIB, He and Agent High T (Liam Neeson) saved the world years ago from an evil alien force called the hive. M is the latest recruit, having found MIB’s secret headquarters after years of searching. As a child, M witnessed an alien encounter—and saw her parents getting their minds erased—starting a curiosity fire that doesn’t get put out until Agent O (Emma Thompson) gives her a chance to basically save the world as a probationary agent. Tessa Thompson is great in anything she does, and she is great here. She brings a fun energy to the role, with a slight edge of wiseass. Hemsworth is a performer who seems to like himself a little too much, but still manages to be likeable. The two make for a good pair, as they did in Thor: Ragnarok. While it’s fun to see them standing next to each other again onscreen, it’s a little baffling what the screenplay puts them through.
Men In Black: International
