Superhero Media: Men In Black III

From what I'd heard, Men In Black III was the return-to-form for the series, and I guess that's true, but then my contention becomes that perhaps the series wasn't all that good to begin with. Seemingly wanting to erase all memory of Men In Black II, the third installment begins with Jay and Kay still partners and Jay being treated like the "new kid" despite more than a decade with the agency. Before you can say "out of ideas", a brilliant actor is cast as a creepy alien and a chase across New York has begun, with Jay having to go back in time to save Kay from an untimely death. Men In Black III is a tad more fresh than its predecessor, in that it doesn't rely on repeating all of the jokes of the original, but this also manages to date it, with the world of 2012 being quite a ways different from the world of 1997. Yes, we need to talk about racism, sorry. The main "joke" of the MIB series has always been based on immigration, framing extraterrestrials as foreigners, and it does work, but post Trayvon Martin, the jokes just aren't as funny anymore. For example, a "Chinese" chef having to put on a dodgy accent in order to engage with customers is, perhaps, not the best look.

It's pretty clear that Men In Black III is looking for nostalgia hits and to kick-start a new franchise, MCU-style, with Jay at the centre as some kind of "chosen one". You see, in the finale, Jay's father sacrifices himself to save Kay, who then takes the child Jay under his wing. Sure, that's an idea, I guess, but my big question is why? This twist in Jay's origin doesn't add anything to the character, who was intentionally something of a blank slate to begin with, and with no more films in the franchise, it doesn't go anywhere, it just hangs like a bloody stump. I get the feeling that the studio was expecting for Men In Black III to be a big enough hit to launch a new series of films, with new supporting cast being introduced, the setting being expanded and the introduction of time travel. Sadly, MIB just doesn't seem to be the kind of setting that Hollywood can manage to spin into an ongoing franchise, as easy at it looks on paper. I think, to date, only the Godzilla/Monarch Cinematic Universe has gotten this right, keeping the monsters, but changing up the cast with each new film. 

So is there anything left in the MIB tank? Yes and no. We'll get to MIB International in time, but the premise is workable, even if it's only worked once. Taking a risk would, oddly, probably be the best approach at this stage, cut the budget to the bone and get some up-and coming comics to take a spin. How about the Lonely Island as Men In Black, or Tina Fey and Amy Poehler as "affirmative action" WoMen In Black? Hell, make it an Amazon Women On The Moon style anthology film with sketches of different comedians and actors dealing with aliens, there's got to be enough there for ninety minutes of laughs. Ok, now I want to see Anna Kendrik and Elizabeth Banks in suits running the Immigration Desk at MIB headquarters, trying to be as polite as possible in trying circumstances. There's something there, right? Or do we just let this one go already?