Jack Goes Confidential: Will Smith Rewrites History. Josh Brolin Nails a Young Tommy Lee Jones

It’s been a decade since MEN IN BLACK 2 hit the big screen in 2002…

To say it was underwhelming is putting it mildly. Gone was the fun, freshness and funny interplay between Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones that we all loved in the 1997 original.
 
So has director Barry Sonnenfeld learned his lesson from the first sequel?
 
The answer: Sort of.
 
M.I.B. 3 is definitely a better movie than its predecessor turned out to be but still lacks the spunk and fun of the original. Here Tommy Lee Jones seems to be just walking through the material.
 
In this latest version Agent J (Will Smith) has to time travel back to 1969 in order to halt an alien takeover and save the future—not to mention his partner played by Tommy Lee Jones.
 
Returning to the past, of course, calls for a much younger version of Agent K who’s played by Josh Brolin. And Brolin stepping into Jones’ character channels him perfectly.
 
Needless to say special effects have vastly improved. And the 3-D, which plays intriguing at times, is really not necessary for the enjoyment of this alien hunting adventure. (Save the up charge for popcorn.)
 
And it’s nice seeing the talented Bill Hader popping up as Andy Warhol in the film’s 60’s sequence.
 
It’s also a relief viewing a chapter in a franchise taking under 2 hours to unfold. For the record M.I.B. 3 clocks out at a reasonable 106 minutes.

Our (full house) screening audience seemed to enjoy the movie while some of the critics in attendance were grumbling on their way out of the theater.
 
For my money—make that, for my time—I’m raising 3-1/2 out of 5 fingers for this latest sci-fi odd-couple, buddy comedy.

JACK GOES TO THE MOVIES Friday mornings at 6:40 a.m. on NewsRadio KMBZ Am & Fm / and anytime on Time-Warner Cable’s K.C. ON DEMAND, Channel 411 / and NEBRASKA ON DEMAND, Channel 411 throughout the Cornhusker State.