For some reason, belated sequels have become very en vogue. (I say, "for some reason", when we all know that money is the reason.) Whether or not the public was asking for them, continuations of series suddenly appear out of nowhere. In recent years, we've seen Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, Tron: Legacy, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and Conan the Barbarian (although I guess that was more of a remake). And now, ten years after Men in Black II, we get Men in Black 3. Are you up for watching Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones chase aliens again?

Men in Black 3 opens with Boris the Animal (Jermaine Clement), a Boglodite alien, escaping from a prison on the moon and heading for Earth, as he has a score to settle with Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones). Meanwhile, K and Agent J (Will Smith) are having a memorial for the late Zed (who was played by Rip Torn in the first two films, but doesn't actually appear here). Following this, Agent O (Emma Thompson) takes her place as head of the agency. That night, while on a seemingly routine call, K learns that Boris is back in town, and then he suddenly disappears. Much to J's surprise, no one remembers K. Gathering what he can from the MIB archives about the relationship between K and Boris, J realizes that something important happened in the past, which is having ramifications in the present, as the previously extinct Boglodites are now invading Earth. J travels back to 1969, where he meets a young K (played by Josh Brolin), and puts a plan in place to stop Boris and save the Earth, both past and present.

One would hope that after a ten year absence that if someone decided to spend $225 million on a new Men in Black movie that it would be something special. And not just because of the money involved and the time which fans have waited, not knowing if another film in the series would ever emerge. For starters, I think that most would agree that Men in Black II was a misfire. While we'd learn to expect weird after the first film, the sequel was a bit too weird and the whole Johnny Knoxville and Lara Flynn Boyle thing really distracted from what should have been the core of the film. Secondly, despite the fact that it has its detractors, Men in Black is a modern classic which showed that you can make a big-budget sci-fi action film which has brains and sly humor. Thus, Men in Black 3 had the opportunity to bring the franchise back to the level of quality established by the first film.

So, am I the only one who thinks that the sole reason that Men in Black 3 exists is because someone learned that Josh Brolin can do a great impression of Tommy Lee Jones? While watching the film, I kept waiting for the moment which would illustrate what made everyone come back for this movie...but it never happened. That's not to imply that Men in Black 3 is a bad movie (more on that in a moment), it simply isn't special. The time-travel conceit which pairs J with a younger version of K sounds good in theory, until you see the film and realize how much it misses Tommy Lee Jones. Again, Brolin does a great impression, but he's also playing a younger K who isn't old and bitter (this is part of the story). The beauty of the first film is how well the youthful exuberance of Will Smith played off of the droopy-dog no-nonsense approach from Jones. Honestly, the fact that Jones only appears at the beginning and ending of this movie makes it feel like a made-for-TV affair where they could only afford for the big star to come in and make a cameo. The script by Etan Cohen also leaves something to be desired. Time-travel stories are always hit or miss, and this one doesn't do much with the genre. I liked the inclusion the date of the Apollo 11 mission, but overall, the story felt like something which would be part of the Men In Black animated series or a comic-book side-story, not a major motion picture.

Again, having said all that, the movie isn't a complete waste. While my wife referred to it as a "train wreck", I wouldn't go that far. The few scenes with Smith and Jones still show some spark, although they do run the joke of K giving J nicknames into the ground. The chemistry between Smith and Brolin isn't the same (again, this is a younger, gentler K), but they play well off of each other. The film has a few funny moments, but nothing to rival the humor of the original. The action scene in the first act is pretty ho-hum, but the finale is well-done, even if the green-screen is a bit dodgy at times. I wasn't impressed with the Boris character, as he's a somewhat generic villain and he looked too much like Randy "Macho Man" Savage. My favorite new character was Griffin (played by Boardwalk Empire's Michael Stuhlbarg), an alien who can see a variety of different futures and isn't sure which one will happen until it occurs. This is a very clever idea and this movie needed more things like that. Also, it was good to see Barry Sonnenfeld directing a theatrical film again, as he's been away since 2006's RV.

If Men in Black 3 was a stand-alone movie, it would have come across as pretty good. But, we expected a lot more from a movie which is a sequel to a blockbuster and stars one of the most recognizable faces in the world. The movie has a few good moments, but overall, it comes across as lackluster. Tommy Lee Jones is missed throughout and the movie lacks the spark of the original. If there's a Men in Black 4, they'll need to bring back more than just the actors.

Men in Black 3 features a lot of references to Frank the dog, but he never appears in the film on DVD courtesy of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. The film has been letterboxed at 1.85:1 and the transfer is enhanced for 16 x 9 TVs. The image is sharp and clear, showing only a trace of grain at times and no defects from the source materials. The colors look good, and the image is never overly dark or bright. The finale, which takes place during the day, is notably crisp. However, the image does lack in detail at times, and some shots are undeniably soft. (This could be the result of the DVD lacking the detail which one would get from a Blu-ray Disc.) On the positive side, for a DVD, the image shows good depth. The Disc carries a Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track which provides clear dialogue and sound effects. The stereo and surround sound effects during the action scenes are very good. The effects are detailed and show good separation from left to right. In addition, there is a clear distinction at times between the sounds from the front and rear. The subwoofer gets a lot of involvement during the action scenes, but it's never overwhelming.

The Men in Black 3 DVD contains only a small assortment of extras. "Partners in Time: The Making of MIB3" (26 minutes) offers a nice amount of on-set footage and interviews with the cast and filmmakers. Smith, Jones, and Sonnenfeld talk about what it's like to be back. Of course, there is discussion of Brolin's performance. The actors talk about their characters and the production. Rick Baker makes an appearance to comment on the alien effects. We get a 4-minute GAG REEL. The final extra is a MUSIC VIDEO for the song "Back in Time" by Pitbull.