By: Lana K. Wilson-Combs
In
?Men in Black: International,? from director
F. Gary Gray (?Straight Outta Compton?), Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson bring more than just their pretty faces to this loopy, sci-fi comedy.
Although it?s tough to fill the shoes of Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith who kicked things off with the 1997 ?Men in Black? movie, Hemsworth and Thompson deliver some of that edgy chemistry they shared in ?Thor: Ragnarok? and ?Avengers: Endgame.?
Thompson plays Molly, aka Agent M. However, we first meet her as a kid (Mandeiya Flory, ?Beautiful Boy?) in Brooklyn nestled in her bedroom reading Stephen Hawking?s ?A Brief History in Time.?
She?s startled when an adorable, furry little creature darts through her window. Molly is immediately intrigued by it. She does her best to protect the alien from a couple of MIB agents that are outside talking to her Morris Day loving mom and dad (Inny Clemons, (?Straight Outta Compton?) and Marcy Harriell (TV?s ?Gone?).
When Molly sees the agents erasing her parents? memories with their Neuralyzer wands, she vows to hunt down these guys and find out everything about them.
Now, all grown up, Molly makes good on her word and finds the agents and their clandestine agency.
Not everyone has what it takes to be an MIB. So, when Molly meets Agent O, (a funny Emma Thompson, ?Late Night?) who is the leader of the MIB's US branch, Molly shows her she has some nifty skills that could serve them well.
Agent O is impressed and lets Molly temporarily join the elite organization until she proves she?s worthy of officially becoming a card-carrying member.
Molly, now known as Agent M gets her first major test. It?s an assignment in London working alongside Agent H (Hemsworth), who heads the MIB?s top UK branch. He?s cocky as hell too since saving Earth from an alien species called The Hive. You?d probably be too if you looked as great as he does wearing pink linen pants.
Even so, Agent H?s reckless behavior has his boss, High T. (Liam Neeson, ?Cold Pursuit?) wondering if he?s losing focus of the organization?s mission. Despite, his missteps, Agent H manages to keep his job much to the dismay of Agent C, (Rafe Spall, ?Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom?) who wishes he had it like that.
Agents H&M have their hands full when some indestructible, shape-shifting alien twins, (Les Twins, Laurent and Larry Bourgeois) touch down and begin to wreak all sorts of havoc. Who knew a couple of French, hip-hop dancers could be so intense?
When Agents H&M learn there?s a mole in the MIB organization, they?re soon jetting to Paris, Marrakech and Italy to find out who it as well as elude the blue-eyed aliens.
Fortunately, during their globetrotting, they get a big assist from an unlikely source, a tiny, chess board figure named Pawny (voiced by Kumail Nanjiani, ?Stuber? and TV?s ?Silicon Valley?) who nearly steals the show with his wisecracking and cuteness.
?I like the direction screenwriters Art Marcum and Matt Holloway (?Transformers: The Last Knight?) have taken with ?Men in Black: International,? which is the fourth installment of the franchise.
The universe is expanding for sure. Having a tough, smart and beautiful woman prominently featured in the MIB mix is refreshing to say the least.
Editor's Note: Be sure to catch my N2Entertainment.net movie talk segment on the Kitty O'Neal Show Fridays now at 6:20 p.m. on radio station KFBK 1530 AM and 93.1 FM.
Check Out This Trailer
"MEN IN BLACK: INTERNATIONAL"
Lana K. Wilson-Combs is a member of the Broadcast Film Critics? Association (BFCA), The Black Film Critics Circle (BFCC), The Alliance Of Women Film Journalists (AWFJ) and a Nominating Committee Voting Member for the NAACP Image Awards.
