Men in Black 3 (Three Disc Combo: Blu-ray 3D / Blu-ray / DVD + UltraViolet Digital Copy) [3D Blu-ray]

Is the third of a series a sequel or a threequel? And does a threequel have to be bad, especially if the sequel disappointed?In this time line and reality (you have to see MIB III to get the joke I just made), MIB III is definitely a hit and does not disappoint. It exceeded all my expectations and that's my favorite reality of all. (again, you have to see MIB III to get my joke). We need some history to understand why.My History with MIB:I was captivated by the original Men In Black. The chemistry between Tommy Lee Jone as K and Will Smith as J was remarkable, and the story line was tremendous fun. Here was a sci-fi adventure with lots of fancy looking gadgets, insanely complex aliens, a nasty yet hysterical villain, a ton of comedy and a happy ending -- proving that a sci-fi movie doesn't have to be all doom and gloom, horror, gore, and filled with pessimistic technobabble about the hopelessness of the future, or endless wars with evil slimy aliens intent on destroying humanity, with the humans only winning at a tremendous cost. Here, humanity was the good guys and we won. It was brilliant.I wasn't so excited by the sequel, MIB II. The chemistry between Jones and Smith was still there, the aliens were there, as were the fancy gadgets and sets, but it just didn't quite come off for me. It seemed, well, tired. The ending wasn't so happy, and though there were jokes a plenty, it had a much darker mood than the original. It was the lightness of the original that made it for me. The sequel seemed too forced and was just not that great.Happily, along comes the threequel, MIB III, and it has it all again. In some ways, it's the best of the lot.Why I enjoyed it so much:Will Smith is again brilliant as J. He had kept in-character throughout the series and delivers his lines spot on. The jokes are fast and furious, and his expressions and body language are wonderful to watch. He makes the character fun.Tommy Lee Jones reprises his role as K, and like Smith is very consistent. He's also a delight, and as sour as K ever was, but in this film, we find out why. He's not on screen that much, but when he is, he's great. Now he has some serious competition!A few "newcomers" appear who are definitely worth mentioning.Emma Thompson as O, the new leader after Z has passed on (we don't know why he died) is excellent as a leader of the MIB. She's always just plain fun to watch. Her character is quick, and just a bit silly.Josh Brolin appears as the younger K (yes, this film is all about time travel and paradoxes, it can make your head spin) and carries the role off by making it his own. To be honest, I didn't know the full cast when I started watching and was partly convinced that Brolin was actually Pierce Brosnan (they look a little alike and some of Brolin's mannerisms reminded me of him). Brolin's K is a much more approachable agent of the MIB, just as funny and wise as Jone's K, but in a more human way. He's also just plain fun to watch. It looks like he's enjoying the part he plays.Michael Stuhlbarg almost steals the show as Griffin, the friendly alien who can see all possible futures and works with K and J to stop the villain and save the day (and the Earth from invasion). He is so animated, his eyes are so bright and his facial expressions are so open... he's an easy candidate for my favorite alien. Great actor.While it's easy to like the "good guys", they won't stand out much as characters unless they are up against a read baddie. And this MIB has a villain even more amazing than the original MIB I (remember the cockroach guy, hysterical but also menacing)?Hats off to Jemaine Clement as Boris, The Animal (actually a sort of hybrid of several alien animals in one body). He's really scary and dangerous, bent on destruction - not a complex villain with angst, he just wants to change history so his race can invade and eat the Earth - and he's pretty much unstoppable.So here we have a great cast (there are others to mention, I didn't see any performance I didn't like). Do we have a great story?The Story:I can't put in any spoilers here, it would not be fair. Suffice it to say that while the story uses a number of tried and true sci-fi cliche's, it does it with a freshness that is brilliant. They put in just the right twists on the tried and true, spin it in a different direction that it kept me on my toes while watching the film, guessing, but never correctly, what was going on or what would happen next. The script and writing on this movie is top notch.There are jokes a plenty as one would expect, and they come fast and furious. I had to rewind and watch several segments repeatedly to savor them all.A few things about the story really stand out. They manage to get suspense not only because of the plot twists, but also from some extremely uncomfortable (for me anyway) visual effects.If you get an adrenalin rush from very high places without a net, you'll love some of the scenes in this movie. How they filmed it has me wondering! This makes not only are some of the alien bits "edge of your seat" stuff, but also some of the action sequences -- just what you'd want in an action adventure. And they don't look faked, at least, not to me! Using height to excite the audience is nothing new, but this movie does it with more of a roller coaster effect.The script is also very strong on heart.As one character says to J (I paraphrase here) "You must really love the guy to go through this for him". And that's what we get a lot of in this movie - heart. J is devoted to K as his partner. He's got his back and will do anything for him. More than that, the younger K is open to J's devotion and accepts it without curmudgeon (as we expect from the older K). But he also is a hero and must do what he must do, in spite of the risks. He can't let J's devotion stop him from fulfilling his destiny. The relationship is very touching.Griffin, the alien, brings a sense of wisdom to all the adventure. He delivers some very wonderful lines, memorable and touching.There is nothing particularly shocking in the film, just great suspense and action, plenty of surprises and the greatest surprise comes at the end of the movie.The writers set us up for one "reality", but what plays out is something completely different, totally unexpected, and so amazingly well done that it ties up the entire K-J relationship together in a single, poignant scene. Everything makes sense, but it comes at a surprising cost for the characters, and our emotions.Sets and Scenery:MIB III delivers here as well, with some oddities.The set for the MIB HQ in our present day has been upgraded. Unfortunately, the HQ now looks like it was designed by APPLE engineers. Everything is white, silver and glass with very little color anywhere. Yes, this contrasts with the "black" of Men In Black, but I would have enjoyed the HQ being less "Applish". Apple is a great company, but why does it have to be imitated in so many sci-fi movies (i.e. Star Trek, the alternate Enterprise bridge)?Nevertheless there are a few sight gags in the sets. For example, look closely at O's office. I don't want to give the joke away, but most of the time, we see it in parts, an edge here, an interior shot there, bits and pieces of it. However, when J leaves it to start on his rescue of K, the camera backs off enough that we see the entire office and its shape. That shape will look very familiar. Hint: This is a movie about aliens in more ways than one!The MIB HQ in the past (1969) is a great homage to architect Frank Lloyd Wright. To get that, you have to look at images of the interior layout of the Johnson Wax building that Wright designed.That's an interesting view, but there is a huge joke in the HQ as well. To get it, you have to have seen MIB I and remember where the cockroach's escape spaceship comes from. In a very quick pan of the MIB HQ of 1969, you'll see it again as the camera makes a pan across the room.Conclusion:MIB III is an unexpected delight. It has everything I want in a lighthearted and entertaining sci-fi movie. The acting is brilliant, the writing and sets... well, let's just say I thought the whole thing was brilliant. Entertaining, engrossing, kept me guessing, and it has just the right touch of heart to make it a "I'm really glad I saw it." movie.And a note about Amazon.I watched this on Amazon Instant Video as a 24 hour rental based on a Christmas gift certificate I received.Once again, Amazon comes through with an easy purchase. I simply found the movie, applied my gift certificate code, and was even able to download MIB III temporarily to my PC (so it would play more smoothly.)I was even able to watch some of it as it was downloading (on my computer this caused a bit of jerkiness, which is to be expected, my computer is an older model). Picture quality was excellent and it played very well once fully downloaded.So hats off toe Amazon for their process in being able to "rent a movie".And hats off to MIB III for being a great $3.99 rental.Money well spent. I loved it!

Fun, funny, entertaining as always with this cast. My son ordered this and has watched it at least four times as it never gets old.

I have made it a personal endeavour to find the best 3D content that the second generation 3D hardware is capable of rendering. It depends greatly on the context of the film and the director's vision as to what optical candy gets used where in equal parts of when why and woah. This is how 3D films are being made now. Gone are the days of smudgy gorillas growling at cameras and paddle balls bouncing off your forehead (all due respect to House of Wax). Now the viewer can be immersed into the environment of the antagonist or protagonist depending on your flavor, depth that once gave a simple reach in and touch the back effect to having objects or people or land formations or spaceships writhing with creatures alien bioware technology that pops off the screen with no artifacting in sight. Some of the coolest scenes in this gem are during up close and personal dialog between characters and there's all sorts of 3D weirdness going on in the shot in layers. What used to look like box panaramas can now be digitally enhanced in so many different ways you feel like your eyes are going to pop out. This is the only movie to date I've seen that makes a car ride look completely realistic and vibrant and I don't have to tell you what that means for the viewer of a car in an MIB film. If you know anyone who has or is thinking of getting a 3D home theater, I highly recommend getting them this movie. Bravo to the 3D design team on this one. I guess I should talk about the actual movie. Relax. I don't do spoilers. That being said this is a genuinely funny film. There are a lot of laugh out loud moments and the 3D complinents the story, the jokes and the weirdness with the adept professionalism of crystal glass juggler on on mind altering substances.The comedy of Smith and Jones is spot on as your every day agent type team exchanging esoteric dialog in expository format, a lot of which are referencing the prior two films' character development and where they are now in the more than obvious father/son subtext. But its well done and presented in a somewhat more mature fashion than you might expect from the franchise. Again, the 3D is very much in a lead role along with Jones and Smith as you can almost immediately tell they are trying to carry on their daily routines while all the 3D mayhem takes centerstage. And that is when you know you're in for something special. Plus, field sequential digital 3D doesn't strain the eyes or hurt the head. Is this Martin Scorcese Hugo 3D? No but that's the point. Its Men in Black 3D.Just for reference for anyone who has considered 3D as an addition to their home theater now is probably the best time. As of the time of this review, the second generation is being phased out with third generation hardware. Which looks fantastic by the way and if they've improved on immersion technology at all, combined with Windows 10 or the Xbox One, virtual reality is here. But I like many of you live in the real world and paying upwards of 6k for a tv with embedded 3D is out of immediate reach. But that is where 3D home entertainment is going. Its a luxury item. Why do I say this? Because the 3D second gen hardware is affordable now. I bought a Vizio 55" LED (the smooth motion makes the 3D look amazing) a samsung 3D bluray player and 5.1 dts theater for about $500 all told. Get the passive technology like in the theater. The active technology doesn't improve the image noticeably enough to warrant the upcharge not to mention they're rather expensive and they are fragile so if you have kids, the glasses like you get at the theater work. Inexpensive and you won't rupture a blood vessel if you have to replace a pair. I'm immensely satisfied with my system and Amazon here makes buying 3D movies a lot less painful. I just bought Antman 3D for 16.99. Is Antman's 3D good? That's a different post. Later. I'm going to play Star Wars Battlefront. In 3D