The 3rd installment in the “Men in Black” franchise is a surprisingly heartfelt one. The movie starts simply enough, gross alien villain “Boris the Animal” (played by Jemaine Clement, that’s right! The guy from Flight of the Concords!) breaks out of prison to get revenge and its up to agents K (played by Tommy Lee Jones) and J  (played by Will Smith) to stop him. It quickly gets darker and more emotional when K refuses to let J have anything to do with this case. Agent K even puts J on suspension just to keep him at arms length until Boris is put down.

Boris jumps back in time to the 60’s and assassinates agent K. Thus the timeline is changed and the earth faces a full scale invasion at the hands of Boris. For some reason Agent J remembers the old timeline instead of the new (it gets explained in the movie, but this is a spoiler-free review). J jumps back in time one day before Boris arrives in the past and tries to prevent K’s death by killing young Boris. He accidentally meets young Agent K (masterfully played by Josh Brolin) and they team up to chase young Boris through 60’s New York.

MIB III is clearly trying to connect with the emotions of its audience. Historically, MIB movies are just great fun and action with some fast-talking Will Smith thrown in for flavor, but this time is different. For reasons I wont reveal here, Agent K is very secretive about his apprehending of Boris the Animal. Agent J pieces together that whatever happened between Boris and Agent K was a turning point in K’s life, after which K became cold, harsh and seemingly void of emotion.

Many people will likely watch MIB III and complain that its plot doesn’t make sense and has holes especially in regards to the rules of time-travel, but pay attention people! It makes perfect sense (here’s a hint, listen closely to the conversation between Agent J and Jeffrey Price just before J jumps).

It all comes together in a satisfying final act. In addition to the welcome added emotional depth, MIB III provides the same great action, humor and chemistry the previous movies enjoyed! Boris is a riot, Jemaine Clement nails his performance as a creepy, awkward and deep down unconfident villain. There is even the happy surprise of Griffin (played by Michael Stuhlbarg), an endearing multidimensional side character who joins in during the later half of the movie.

Men in Black III was fun, exciting and emotionally charged. The chemistry between Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith is excellent as always. Josh Brolin is a dead ringer for Jones’s portrayal of Agent K, chemistry and all.

Men in Black III receives a rating of Full Price. Its worth seeing on the big screen. Make an evening out of it!

Fun Factor: 79%