# Men in black 3 - it's better than 2 (spoilers) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 25, 2012, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-in-black-3-its-better-than-2-spoilers/623113 "2012-05-25T21:26:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2012, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-in-black-3-its-better-than-2-spoilers/623113/21 "2012-06-03T08:39:05Z")
> [@Infovore](#): > > The CGI was terrible… No, I think that’s what Tommy Lee Jones’ face really looks like. I’ve never really understood the love for the first MiB, so I didn’t feel particularly let down by the second - and I can’t say I minded the third, either. It’s a pretty stupid movie, no matter how you look at it, but it’s got some good gags, and the effects are pretty neat. Loved the design on the villain, who sounds uncannily like Tim Curry. There’s enough make-up and CGI on him that I had to check the credits to make sure it wasn’t him. I did do a double taken when I saw that the screen writing credit went to [Etan Cohen](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1000113/), though. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2012, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-in-black-3-its-better-than-2-spoilers/623113/22 "2012-06-03T15:30:23Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > No, I think that’s what Tommy Lee Jones’ face really looks like. Haha! 🙂 It’s interesting to me that so many people thought this movie was pretty good. I guess there’s a lot of love for the franchise out there, and I’m just an outlier–a lot of the critics seem to agree with you guys that it actually wasn’t as bad as I thought it was. YMMV, I guess, and that’s cool. I’m not gonna watch it again to see what I missed, but I see that it’s definitely a “different squids for different kids” sort of film. BTW, I know you were joking, but the point when I realized that the CGI was straight out of about 1999 was the big fish in the Chinese restaurant. Some of the subsequent CGI wasn’t too bad, but that fish just looked so fake that it kicked me right out of my suspension of disbelief. “Jurassic Park” did better (_far_ better) nearly 20 years ago. And considering MiB III’s budget (I heard $375m–compare with $220M for “The Avengers”), I begin to wonder where they _put_ all that money. It must have been star salaries, 'cuz it certainly wasn’t visual effects! ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2012, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-in-black-3-its-better-than-2-spoilers/623113/23 "2012-06-04T00:41:03Z")
> [@Infovore](#): > > (I heard $375m–compare with $220M for “The Avengers”), I begin to wonder where they _put_ all that money. It must have been star salaries, 'cuz it certainly wasn’t visual effects! [Dude, $375 million would far outpace the most expensive movie of all time. It was $225 million, still a very expensive movie.](http://www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/chart/) Where did you hear $375 million? I’ve never heard of one movie costing that much. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2012, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-in-black-3-its-better-than-2-spoilers/623113/24 "2012-06-04T00:55:21Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > [Dude, $375 million would far outpace the most expensive movie of all time. It was $225 million, still a very expensive movie.](http://www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/chart/) > > Where did you hear $375 million? I’ve never heard of one movie costing that much. It was in an article I read somewhere–I remember it because I thought it was pretty mind-boggling. I don’t remember exactly where it was. But it’s comforting to know it was wrong! ---
**Author:** ![a35362](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@a35362](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a35362)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2012, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-in-black-3-its-better-than-2-spoilers/623113/25 "2012-06-04T01:17:16Z")
[L.A. Times](http://articles.latimes.com/2012/may/14/entertainment/la-et-men-in-black-20120514), apparently, last May. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2012, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-in-black-3-its-better-than-2-spoilers/623113/26 "2012-06-04T02:07:14Z")
Just got home from seeing it and I’m gonna be weird with you all: Liked the movie but didn’t LOVE it…I was much more intrigued by this plot than with the second one, but overall I liked the second one better. I thought 2 was funnier which is what I want in this movie more than an intriguing plot. But all of that being said I love all three of the movies and will buy the inevitable three pack when it comes out on dvd in 6 months or whatever ---
**Author:** ![JpnDude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/838e76/32.png) [@JpnDude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JpnDude)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2012, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-in-black-3-its-better-than-2-spoilers/623113/27 "2012-06-04T03:09:01Z")
> [@Pai325](#): > > Tommy Lee is not aging well. Smith and Jones were in Japan a couple of weeks ago to promote the movie. They appeared in a local variety show. Seeing TLJ’s appearance surprised wifey and me. [Smith and Jones on Japanese TV](http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNDAwMzEwNjIw.html) (Chinese video site: start from the 4:00 mark) ---
**Author:** ![a35362](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@a35362](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a35362)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2012, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-in-black-3-its-better-than-2-spoilers/623113/28 "2012-06-04T03:17:15Z")
He was about 50 when the first movie came out and he’s 65 now. A “rode hard and put away wet” sort of 65, it appears. ---
**Author:** ![magnusblitz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@magnusblitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magnusblitz)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2012, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-in-black-3-its-better-than-2-spoilers/623113/29 "2012-06-04T06:07:32Z")
It was decent, I’d put it in the “rent” category rather than “see it in the theatre” category. The first part of it is terribly awkward and drags. Everyone except Will Smith acts like they were purposely being told by the director to act weird and out of place. The scene in the Chinese diner made about zero sense. Thankfully, once they time travel, it gets a lot better… but it still feels a bit empty/stretched compared to other better films. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2012, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-in-black-3-its-better-than-2-spoilers/623113/30 "2012-06-04T13:32:39Z")
I think it was worth it just to see Josh Brolin’s TLJ’s impression. After 30 minutes, I was positive they had just dubbed TLJ’s voice in. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2012, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-in-black-3-its-better-than-2-spoilers/623113/31 "2012-06-04T17:43:55Z")
Random thoughts: [ul] [li]Slow at first, I think the whole thing really took off as soon as Griffin showed up. He was really the lynch-pin of the plot.[/li][li]Stuhlbarg was brilliant as Griffin - but he always delivers.[/li][li]Brolin was brilliant as TLJ, inspired casting.[/li][li]Clement was great, he’s really good at these very broad characters.[/li][li]Will Smith just never got into his rhythm. I thought they missed some comedy opportunity with his aging. There was a scene where he was jumping down from a rooftop and he was having a hard time. Compared to MIB I where he was able to chase down the alien in the beginning, I think they could have played up the contrast more.[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-in-black-3-its-better-than-2-spoilers/623113/32 "2012-06-05T15:29:09Z")
Really liked it (saw #1 in theater when it came out, never saw #2). Thought the actors did a great job and the speshefex were fun. Plus: bonus Emma Thompson!!! ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-in-black-3-its-better-than-2-spoilers/623113/33 "2012-06-05T15:42:03Z")
> [@Icarus](#): > > Will Smith just never got into his rhythm. I thought they missed some comedy opportunity with his aging. Meh. I think they gave Will Smith too much time to get a rhythm. The movie (better than 2 but still meh) was largely “Will Smith Vanity Project 2012”. It would have been a better movie if he wasn’t such a big focus in it or had they denied him his own script re-writes. Both Jones and Brolin were both more understated while managing to steal scenes from Smith. ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-in-black-3-its-better-than-2-spoilers/623113/34 "2012-06-05T17:10:30Z")
I saw the movie Sunday and perhaps it’s just my nostalgia (I was 12 when the first MIB came out), but I absolutely loved it. A few of the things that had me busting up laughing: [spoiler] “Mommy, the President took my chocolate milk. And he didn’t even say please.” The roach alien guys once again “jumping ship,” like they always do when things look bad for Earth. The poster of Frank the Pug over J’s bed in his apartment.[/spoiler] Like everyone else, I was super impressed with Brolin’s Agent K. Before seeing the movie, I was curious how that could be pulled off. . . but man, he was something. Boris the Animal was also excellent-- I spent a solid half of the movie trying to figure out if it was Tim Curry (it’s not). Either way, Boris was a great bad guy for a Men in Black movie-- not too terribly scary, but certainly diabolical. The end though . . . the end got me. When it was revealed that the Colonel was J’s dad. . . not even going to lie, I teared up. I knew that the bad thing that K had witnessed was some sort of horrible death, but that was just a great way to explain their entire relationship. Also like everyone else, I thought the whole O and K relationship was a bit odd at first, given the strong storyline given to K’s love of his wife in the previous movie. But after thinking about it for a bit K was really young when he was courting O. People change and move on. It’s not unreasonable that he would have later met and fallen for his wife, but still looked back fondly at his time with O. Over all, I loved it. Great movie. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-in-black-3-its-better-than-2-spoilers/623113/35 "2012-06-05T17:20:06Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > Meh. I think they gave Will Smith too much time to get a rhythm. The movie (better than 2 but still meh) was largely “Will Smith Vanity Project 2012”. It would have been a better movie if he wasn’t such a big focus in it or had they denied him his own script re-writes. Both Jones and Brolin were both more understated while managing to steal scenes from Smith. Yeah, after his recent Oscar bait work (Seven Pounds, The Pursuit of Happyness) and action man work (Hancock, I Am Legend) he’s trying to prove he’s still got the comedy chops…I don’t think he succeeded. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-in-black-3-its-better-than-2-spoilers/623113/36 "2012-06-05T18:34:32Z")
I put on pants! ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-in-black-3-its-better-than-2-spoilers/623113/37 "2012-06-05T18:53:49Z")
> [@DiosaBellissima](#): > > Also like everyone else, I thought the whole O and K relationship was a bit odd at first, given the strong storyline given to K’s love of his wife in the previous movie. But after thinking about it for a bit > > K was really young when he was courting O. People change and move on. It’s not unreasonable that he would have later met and fallen for his wife, but still looked back fondly at his time with O. The implication in the first film is that K stumbled into the MIB as a young man by getting lost on his way to a date with his girlfriend. That’s why he had the bouquet of flowers that he presented to the tall alien. The implication, to me at least, was that he was recruited into MIB right then and there and he never saw her again. ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-in-black-3-its-better-than-2-spoilers/623113/38 "2012-06-05T19:56:37Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > The implication in the first film is that K stumbled into the MIB as a young man by getting lost on his way to a date with his girlfriend. That’s why he had the bouquet of flowers that he presented to the tall alien. The implication, to me at least, was that he was recruited into MIB right then and there and he never saw her again. Touché, good sir. But. . . [spoiler] . . . I still don’t find it hard to believe that while pining away for his lost love he had some fun. I didn’t take the relationship between he and O as anything overly serious, just that they had some heavy flirtation and fun together. Even in real life, there are plenty of folks who spend years dreaming of the one that got away, but date, get married, and have families with other folks. [/spoiler] ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-in-black-3-its-better-than-2-spoilers/623113/39 "2012-06-05T20:04:55Z")
What I remember from MIB 2 is that J’s love interest was K’s alien daughter. Is there any continuation of that in the present film? ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-in-black-3-its-better-than-2-spoilers/623113/40 "2012-06-05T20:14:31Z")
I thought the “relationship” between K and O was one of the things that this movie did really, really well… …because it’s entirely a fake-out. You’re supposed to think that something in their past made K into the dour guy he is today, but it’s total misdirection. So that was the one place where the story totally went in a direction I didn’t expect. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-in-black-3-its-better-than-2-spoilers/623113.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-in-black-3-its-better-than-2-spoilers/623113.md?page=3)