Men In Black International

                 Molly (Tessa Thompson) encounters the MIB as a young girl and becomes obsessed with finding the secret organisation. She’s written off as crazy for believing in aliens, but her persistence leads her to the doorstep of the US headquarters. Impressed by her tenacity, department head Agent O (Emma Thompson) gives Molly a chance to prove herself, dubbing her Agent M, and putting her on probation. M is packed off to London, where she meets the heroic Agent H, who saved the world along with the London head High T (Liam Neeson) using only their wits. Agents H & M are assigned a seemingly low-key mission, but everything goes haywire, leaving the fate of the planet in their hands.

While this plot sounds pretty much like every other MIB film so far, this continuation of the franchise appeared to be a lot more promising with the charismatic and currently popular Chris Hemsworth, paired with the equally affable Tessa Thompson. The actors have previously worked together with impressive results. Director F. Gary Gray aims to capture their lightning chemistry in this film but instead ends up proving that no amount of charisma can substitute a strong screenplay. 'MIB International' meanders along the way to set up the plot, and all the wisecracks (few of which land), special effects (nothing that we haven’t seen already), or fancy aliens (same as before) can’t seem to salvage it. All isn’t lost; the one character who stands out is Pawny, voiced by Kumail Nanjiani. His thumb sized alien somehow gets the best lines, and therefore, the best laughs. Should there be a sequel, his backstory might be worth looking into. 

Other than that, there’s not much to savour here. The villains are bland, and although some of them have pretty cool powers, their motivations are as derivative as their personalities. There is intrigue around the relationship between Riza (Rebecca Ferguson) and Agent H, but it is barely explored. An obligatory twist towards the climax has a storytelling element that holds promise. Sadly, it comes a little too late in the proceedings. Despite all its shortcomings, Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson fans may be able to sit this through, simply because their screen presence is so magnetic and charming. Pity they’re working with such a bland script, ending in a film that seems to cater to new audiences, rather than those who grew up watching the edgier MIB movies before it.