Men in Black: International, is an abysmal attempt to retract a dead franchise with new life. It has a forgettable story-line that doesn’t interest you one bit in spite of good acting by the leads. When the story is so predictable and flat, there is nothing much the lead actors could do. This science fiction action comedy film is directed by F Gary Gray and written by Art Marcum and Matt Holloway. It is a spin-off from the Men in Black film series, which is loosely based on the Malibu/Marvel comics of the same name by Lowell Cunningham.

The previous three episodes of MIB had Wills Smith and Tommy Lee Jones as the leads and for this spin-off version, the makers have roped in ‘Thor’ star Chris Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson and Liam Neeson as the central characters. Emma Thompson and Tim Blaney are reprising their respective roles from the previous editions of MIB.

The story starts after the events happened in Men in Black 3. MIB has a branch in London where one probationary officer and Agent H team up to save the planet from Hive. The London branch of MIB gets compromised and these two officers take on the responsibility of finding the mole. A boring over-beaten story, in fact you can pretty much guess the entire story and what is going to happen at the last, by watching the first 30 minutes of the film. And the twist towards the end doesn’t look like a twist at all, since we have the same concept a zillion times before.

The fights could have been better conceived, especially when you have 2 powerful aliens chasing the leads. The cat and mouse games were pretty boring beyond a point. A lot of things in the film made no sense and some of the scenes weren’t required. It could have been crisper and neat. Chris Hemsworth, however, is a worthy addition to the franchise, which is almost dead and dusted. This edition is slightly better than the previous two installments but still no way close to the classic 1997 MIB.

If you wish to watch no-brainer action movie, MIB: International could be filling but on the whole, it lacks ambition and depth. It is mildly engaging but technically very strong.
 

Verdict: Men in Black: International is an improvement over MIB 2 & 3 but nevertheless a purposeless sequel that you would wish to ‘Neutralize’!

Rating: 2.25/5