Men in Black: International (2019)

rating: ****

the story: A new MiB recruit quickly discovers another giant intergalactic crisis.

review: So, here's the thing: Men in Black (1997) is probably a classic on par with Ghostbusters (1984), but it's somewhat hard to view it as such because Will Smith was just getting started on a decade-long run as one of the most reliable box office attractions of that period, making it difficult to distinguish whether Men in Black was its own entity or, ultimately, just another Will Smith smash hit.  Regardless of whether or not you enjoy Smith two subsequent appearances in the series, this fourth entry then becomes: Does the concept work without him?

I think it does.  Then, I generally like the whole series.  The storytelling has changed over time, notably the attempt to pivot almost entirely to Smith in the third one, at a time when his appeal was actually waning, and his performances were shifting away from the kind he was giving in the first one, which actually served to put more focus on the MiB universe itself, its vision of aliens run amok in all manner of guises.  MiB: International, at the very least, adds to the memorable menagerie with the sidekick Pawny and the Beard Alien.  The Beard Alien is just awesome.

Notably, the stars of the movie, Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson, are actually reprising an act from Thor: Ragnarok.  Thompson is the lead character here, inhabiting the Will Smith initiate role from the first movie, which a more developed backstory and a more deliberate arc.  Any concerns that the hard focus on her being a woman playing too much into current trends might be redirected to how Smith was presented, including the memorable gag of the decoy white driver.  Which is to say, even that is entirely in-character for the series.

Hemsworth, meanwhile, gets to do what Smith never did, which is to make being an agent seem like a casual thing.  Clearly Smith's J was always supposed to turn out to be a rogue figure, but he was mostly presented as such in relation to Tommy Lee Jones' K.  I like that Hemsworth and Thompson actually reveal their real names to each other, further distinguishing the two versions of the series, where even though we learn J and K's names, those initials will always be how they're remembered.  If this is the only time we experience Hemsworth and Thompson in the series (though it would be interesting to Fast & Furious the series), then at least they leave a mark.

The mole trope seems fairly obvious from the moment Liam Neeson appears.  He plays his part  obviously from the start, but he's here for a supporting role.  Emma Thompson provides one of several pieces of linking material within the series (in hindsight it was a good thing Rip Torn was killed off last movie, since by this one he was, sadly, dead in real life).  Rebecca Ferguson appears as the somewhat requisite femme fatale.

Bottom line: International proves the series isn't entirely about Will Smith.  That's a good thing.