We’re living in a moviegoing landscape where franchises are king, but whether or not one will succeed relies on so many factors that it can basically be reduced to a coin toss. Some franchises can survive healthily for 23 installments; others need to be put out of their misery after four. The Men in Black franchise started off promisingly by putting a sci-fi spin on a typical “buddy cop” movie.
However, the sequels have been very hit-and-miss, as Rick Sanchez can attest to. So, here are five reasons why the Men in Black franchise should be given another chance, and five why it should just be allowed to die.
DESERVES ANOTHER CHANCE: Men In Black 3 Proved New Spins On The Premise Can Work
The second Men in Black movie proved that repeating all the jokes from the first movie isn’t a great formula for making a sequel, especially when the premise has so many opportunities to be imaginative. Men in Black 3 proved that MIB sequels can work if they put a fun new spin on the original concept. In Terminator 2, there’s a second Terminator protecting the Terminator’s target. In Aliens, there are dozens of the one alien that terrorized Ripley the first time around.
And in Men in Black 3, Agent J travels back in time to the ‘60s to prevent an apocalyptic event. Introducing time travel to the story opened up all kinds of avenues, and the threequel took advantage of all of them. This is a good rule of thumb for continuing the Men in Black saga.
LET IT DIE: It Doesn’t Work Without Will Smith And Tommy Lee Jones
Anyone who saw the first three Men in Black movies might have suspected that the key to their success was Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones’ hilarious on-screen chemistry. Anyone who saw Men in Black: International had those suspicions confirmed.
Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson are two talented, popular, well-matched actors who have proven they can lead a rollicking sci-fi comedy together, both coming off the highest grossing movie of all time, and yet, Men in Black: International bombed at the box office. Without Smith and Jones, Men in Black doesn’t hold up.
DESERVES ANOTHER CHANCE: All It Needs Is A Good Script
The box office failure of Men in Black: International clearly can’t be attributed to the draw of Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson because it’s hard to name two movie stars who are more popular than them right now. They play two of Marvel’s most beloved characters, and have each proven their range outside of the MCU.
The real problem with Men in Black: International was its script. It was bland and uninspired from the offset, and the mid-filming rewrites make the whole thing feel disjointed. This led to negative reviews, which led to financial turmoil. To breathe life back into the Men in Black franchise, all Sony needs is a good script — which is easier said than done, but also easier done than Hollywood makes it seem.
LET IT DIE: The Franchise Can’t Be Driven By The Lore Alone
In the recent attempt at a Men in Black movie without the involvement of Will Smith or Tommy Lee Jones, all that remained of the previous three films was the set design and the gadgets — or, in other words, the lore. In the original trilogy (if you will), all the gadgets were introduced to serve specific jokes. Taking the lore seriously and bringing back the old gadgets to say, “Hey, remember these?,” will just result in diminishing returns.
These movies are comedies; the worldbuilding doesn’t have the depth of, say, Star Trek. Ghostbusters’ 2016 reboot made this same mistake. If sequels and reboots are just going to use fans’ nostalgia against them like how countless other Hollywood franchises are doing, then there’s no real point.
DESERVES ANOTHER CHANCE: The Premise Has Satirical Potential
One of the Men in Black franchise’s funniest running gags is revealing which celebrities are actually aliens or undercover MIB agents. In Men in Black 3, Bill Hader plays Andy Warhol as an undercover MIB agent who’s sick of Warhol’s postmodern schtick, and wants to be taken out of the field.
There’s a lot of satirical potential in peeling back the curtain on a society that’s been infiltrated by aliens. Men in Black has the potential to be a more mainstream version of John Carpenter’s They Live.
LET IT DIE: The Abandoned Jump Street Crossover Sounded Promising, But It’s Not Happening
When the Guardians of Peace hacked into Sony’s servers and leaked hundreds of its emails, an exchange was revealed in which a crossover between the Jump Street and Men in Black franchises was discussed.
It seemed like an interesting way to shake up both franchises: Men in Black would get a shot in the arm by exploring an entirely different kind of humor, and the Jump Street saga could continue without undermining 22 Jump Street’s incredible end credits gag. However, since the plans were released to the public before they’d been finalized, the studio ended up dropping the idea altogether.
DESERVES ANOTHER CHANCE: There Are Plenty Of Talented Directors Out There
When F. Gary Gray was directing Men in Black: International, he reportedly wanted to quit the movie multiple times as studio executives increasingly took over creative control. It’s a shame, because Gray is a fantastic filmmaker — as exemplified by his varied work, ranging from his debut film Friday to his masterpiece Straight Outta Compton — and if Sony had just loosened the reins a little, he could’ve made a great Men in Black movie.
The same goes for many talented directors out there, who could do wonders by bringing their unique voice to a Men in Black film. Taika Waititi, Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, Kay Cannon, or Edgar Wright are just a few examples.
LET IT DIE: The Title Is Outdated
The title Men in Black is taken from the idiom “men-in-black,” found in many UFO conspiracy theories. They’re supposedly the government suits who intimidate UFO witnesses into keeping quiet. As a name that excludes women, however, it doesn’t really have a place in the current social climate.
Men in Black: International had an awkward joke about it between Emma Thompson’s Agent O and Tessa Thompson’s Agent M. O says, “Don’t start. I’ve had the conversation.” So, if the options are for the movies to either continue having their cake and eating it too with these on-the-nose jokes, or changing the name of the franchise, then it’s not worth it.
DESERVES ANOTHER CHANCE: The Storytelling Possibilities Are Endless
The Men in Black movies are set in a vast universe filled with alien species that have infiltrated the society of contemporary Earth. The entire known universe exists within a random locker in a gigantic alien train station.
All kinds of stories can be told in this world. As long as it sticks to the general theme of intergalactic law enforcement, the Men in Black franchise’s storytelling possibilities are endless.
LET IT DIE: The Story Is Over
In Men in Black 3, Agent J went back in time and discovered that Agent K recruited him to join the agency and mentored him through the ranks because he owed his life to J’s father. J subtly implying in the diner that he knows why K looked after him, which Griffin calls his new favorite moment in human history, was the perfect way to end this story.
Men in Black: International can be seen as a sort of postscript, or Rogue One-style add-on, but the Men in Black story proper has reached a satisfying conclusion.