Men in Black 3 2012

Mary F. Pols, TIME Magazine: Its opening sequences are a near marvel of confusion, mayhem and embarrassments for its actors. If it was a person, you'd worry it had dementia. Read more

Glenn Kenny, MSN Movies: The thing is still too loud and too big in many respects, but it offers some satisfactions that the average blockbuster rarely even bothers to imagine. Read more

A.O. Scott, New York Times: "Men in Black 3" arrives in the multiplexes of the world with no particular agenda. Which may be part of the reason that it turns out to be so much fun. Read more

David Edelstein, New York Magazine/Vulture: The script was enough of a mess to stop the shooting for high-priced rewrites, but you know what they say about washing garbage. Read more

Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: [Brolin's] performance defies explanation; it's mysteriously marvelous. Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: You may be wondering what thrilling, creative idea caused the filmmakers and stars to resurrect this franchise. The answer: none. Read more

Nathan Rabin, AV Club: Sonnenfeld's mildly overachieving film isn't essential, but it finds just enough ways to justify its existence beyond the insatiable demands of commerce. Read more

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: "Men in Black III" isn't bad, certainly not as bad as it might have been. But it's not exactly good, either. Mostly, it's something else: unnecessary. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: Brolin's performance is funny, masterful, confident, and more than a little unsettling. If one human being can sample another, that's what's going on here. Read more

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader: As in most successful fantasy blockbusters, there's a comfortable balance between technological wizardry and human talent. Read more

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: It turns out to be reasonably entertaining, though not enough to make me crave Men in Black 4. Read more

Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post: The Smith-Jones duo's return as the titularly clad operatives, while not exactly essential, comes with the charms of reprised, well-liked characters and a "didn't-see-that-coming" conclusion that makes up for the first hour's sequelitis. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: "Men in Black III" is an efficient Hollywood summer blockbuster product. Read more

Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: Sonnenfeld and Cohen move their baby along with an integrity and gait that ought to serve as a blueprint for other filmmakers faced with the particular challenges of reviving big-ticket and time-dated hunks of pop culture. Read more

John DeFore, Hollywood Reporter: It's hard to imagine it won't be a hit, and hard to begrudge that success, no matter how saturated we are with comic-book properties and sequels. Read more

Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: "Men in Black 3" has got the MIB mojo back - well, most of it anyway. Read more

Randy Myers, San Jose Mercury News: Like an alien trapped in a human host, a better movie is itching to burst out of "Men in Black 3." Read more

Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: Men in Black 3 is so dull and empty, it's the first movie that has ever made me think "Thank God this is in 3D." Read more

Rafer Guzman, Newsday: The franchise is no longer the zenith of blockbusterism, and the gooey effects from Hollywood veteran Rick Baker look overly familiar, but "Men in Black 3" remains an amiable comedy with some fondly familiar faces. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: It really is too bad that Smith couldn't go back in time and stop this thing. Read more

Scott Tobias, NPR: Sonnenfeld ... gets just enough juice out of the time-travel idea to give Men in Black 3 a lift. Read more

Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: Brolin is such a perfect match for Jones, and Smith so confidently charismatic, that everything else seems like a distraction. Read more

Lou Lumenick, New York Post: This only mildly bloated and convoluted action comedy has enough inspired moments to wipe out memories of the abysmal 2002 first sequel as surely as one of the black-suited heroes' nebulizers. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: This sequel is so lifeless and pointless that it moves beyond "unnecessary" into the realm of "unwanted" and "insulting." Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: It's better than the first one. Read more

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: The unexpected spark between Smith and Brolin makes MiB3 primo summer fun. Read more

Amy Biancolli, San Francisco Chronicle: If you're looking for cinema verite, look elsewhere. If you're looking for a fun, fizzy sequel in a franchise left for dead 10 years ago, have at it. Read more

Christy Lemire, Associated Press: When even the most charismatic actor on the planet can't fake excitement, you know you're in trouble. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: Sonnenfeld depends on crashing action and hyperventilating camera moves to puff up the slack blimp of a story. Unfortunately, there's one effect that computer-animation technicians can never duplicate: a genuine sense of fun. Read more

Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: "Men in Black 3" is all surface but, as with the moon, the surface can steal our attention Read more

Christopher Orr, The Atlantic: The movie represents at least a partial return to form--not as inventive as the first, but surely better than the recycled materials that made up the second. Read more

Rick Groen, Globe and Mail: In the mists of the past, damned if an old tune doesn't find some new energy. Delight, a modest yet palpable measure of the stuff, is restored. Read more

Alonso Duralde, TheWrap: There's a zippy and clever movie going on all around the two lumps with their names above the title. Read more

Trevor Johnston, Time Out: I'm still not convinced anyone really needs it, but this is a respectable effort in the circumstances. Read more

Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out: Apparently, it's okay to be nostalgic again, especially when the emotional payoff is this big-a wonderful surprise. Read more

Linda Barnard, Toronto Star: Look into this device and wait for the flash and forget any talk of sequels, please. Move along. Your work is done. Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: This spirited three-quel comes close to the exuberance of the first Men in Black and is a distinct improvement over its limp 2002 follow-up. Read more

Andrew Barker, Variety: In this age of blockbuster bloat, Sonnenfeld's willingness to wrap things up well before the two-hour mark, as well as his eschewal of sledgehammer product placement, count as gestures of considerable mercy. Read more

Nick Pinkerton, Village Voice: If you opt to rent the 3-D glasses, Men in Black 3 will be $14; the product has not, otherwise, changed significantly. Read more

Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post: If there ever is a "Men in Black IV" -- and at this point, it's hard to imagine one -- let's hope it finds that delicate balance between the yuks and the yucks. Read more

Richard Roeper, Richard Roeper.com: It's that rare threequel that doesn't suck. Great special effects, surprising amount of heart. Read more