Men In Black International brings back the PG-13 rating Gen x, Gen Y, and older millennials remember. Is that a good thing for kids? Nope. This Men In Black International review will focus on a parent’s honest opinion of the film, and who I think would enjoy it. Spoiler: it’s not young kids.
Men In Black International Review for parents
If you were able to see the original Men In Black in theaters, you may only remember how new, cool, and funny the film was. It was also very on-par with a PG-13 film at the time, full of cheeky wordplay, adolescent innuendos, and some pretty scary scenes. Perfect for teenagers of that time.
I made a point to write this Men In Black International review because I don’t think the whole film is a wash, but there are parts you need to know about before viewing it.
Men In Black International is following the same format as the original Men In Black, and as an 80s baby, I was HERE for it. My kids, on the other hand, needed to skip this film all together.
Good In The Beginning
I will dare say the first 15 minutes of the movie is the only part of the film the whole family will enjoy. The backstory of Tessa Thompson’s character, Molly, was a cute combination of MIB magic and some 80’s Easter eggs. Molly’s journey to MIB was also pretty fun for kids to watch.
Things move from PG to PG-13 pretty quickly. Without giving away any spoilers, a scene with Chris Hemsworth’s character Agent H has drinking, dangerous gambling, scary scene with an alien animal, and some adult-type aftermath when Chris ends up in someone else’s bed.
A Very Long Story
There were way too many lulls in this film. It’s runtime is only 114 minutes, but it feels way longer.
Tessa Thompson carries the film, with her engaging demeanor, high intelligence, and Agent M’s zest for the newness of MIB life. Like I mentioned before, this is very similar to the first Men In Black.
But, there were so many lags and lulls in this storyline. We’re a family who is used to sitting through a long film.
We’ve watched all of the Star Wars sagas and Avengers films without any issues, but there were times where a few of us actually got up to get more popcorn or use the restroom. Without any guilt, mind you.
We did it knowing we wouldn’t miss much, and we were right.
{Related: Black Panther Review – A Paren’t Honest Opinion}
Not For Kids But Fun For Teens
I will say, taking my 4 year old and 8 year old to see Men In Black International was pretty painful. I counted 15+ forms of profanity during the film.
I actually lost track of the amount of times they said damn and hell, and the drop of “a** clown” made me want cover my kids’ ears. Usually, we aren’t that phased by language, but this was a bit much for our young ones.
For my teenager? I wouldn’t mind if he had seen this film with a group of friends, on a Friday night. He’s almost 14, and his moral compass rivals Captain America to a fault. He’s not a fan of language, but he loves action/comedy films like this.
If you have teens, and honor the PG-13 rating by letting them see those films, I think letting them view Men In Black International with you (or with friends) is fine.
This is far from the TBS or TNT version of the original Men In Black film, but the Thompson/Hemsworth duo was enjoyable to see on-screen again.
{Related: Where To Stream Men In Black}
