<Review by: Sailesh Ghelani>

Directed by F. Gary Gray. Starring Chris Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson, Kumail Nanjiani, Rafe Spall, Rebecca Ferguson, Laurent and Larry Bourgeois, Emma Thompson, Liam Neeson

Running time: 2 hours

Wasn’t a fan of the previous films but at least the chemistry between Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones was worth the ticket. Men In Black: International is proof enough that there’s no need for more MIB films.

Do you remember the last MIB film? Neither do I. And I don’t care to. The great thing though is that even without watching the previous ones you can still watch MIB International and dislike it. There’s no real story, the dialogue is lazy, the special effects are mediocre and the finale is blah. You’d go to watch the film for Chris Hemsworth’s persona, but then you can watch him be himself in any of a dozen Marvel films. I’d really like to see him actually act in a role that isn’t him one day.

Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson have worked together in Thor: Ragnarok, one of the nicest and funniest Avengers movies. So, there is a chemistry there but it’s nothing special. In part, this is due to Hemsworth’s blasé attitude. He’s there but isn’t there. Tessa Thompson as Agent M is strong but one dimensional.

So the script goes for some laughs and gags to try and justify this entry. Most are not very funny. The only wit in the film comes from little alien Pawny, voiced by actor/writer/comedian Kumail Nanjiani. Voice and delivery are perfect; a film with him as the hero would be far more interesting.

MIB was a hit back in 2007 because of the breakthrough CGI and Will Smith’s popularity. He was the action hero of the time and people loved him. Trying to elicit a laugh and cheers (it did) by showing Chris Hemsworth reaching for a small hammer and throwing it at a bad guy reeks of desperation even though it is the only moment in the film that you can truly say you enjoyed because… well you know why.

Men In Black: International (even the name is lazy) is a half-hearted attempt to revive a franchise long dead because the studios have no new ideas and are trying to evoke nostalgia for those classic films, which, sadly, will never be made again.

PS: Oh and this whole trend now of making women trendy for the sake of fitting in with the movement (just like using Chinese actors in films) is looking very insincere. Just talking about how the name ‘Men’ In Black is sexist in the movie doesn’t make things better. Just like they did in X-Men: Dark Phoenix. Actually change the names then if you have the balls! Otherwise, give us our men the way we want them. And make kick ass films for women who don’t need to talk about how the film should have their gender in the title.