Men in Black 3 - B

Rated PG-13, 106 minutes

Characters best part of charming, familiar "MIB 3"

It's hard not to like Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones and Josh Brolin in the enjoyable but well-worn "Men in Black 3." The whole gang is back for the first time in 10 years, since the lackluster "Men in Black II" in 2002; this energetic, fun installment is an improvement over that film but doesn't tread much new ground. Smith is Agent J, Jones is Agent K, partners in fighting the scum of the universe and on their toes even more when one of the scum, deadly alien Boris the Animal ("Flight of the Conchords'" Jermaine Clement, inspired) escapes and threatens Earth along with K, who put Boris away over 40 years ago. J goes back in time to work with a younger K (Brolin) to save the Earth from Boris. Director Barry Sonnenfeld brings the crew back together in the enjoyable "MIB 3" with some of the inspired wit and charm that made the original a huge hit 15 years ago, with a wise focus on the characters again. Smith, back on the big screen for the first time in several years, is back in charismatic form throwing out cheeky one-liners and generally having a good time, as does Jones, with less footage but still an integral part of the story. Brolin's witty, spot-on turn as the younger Jones is the film's chief highlight and worth the price of admission; he captures many of Jones' stoic looks and mannerisms perfectly. Less successful is the loads of busy special effects and CG (along with the unnecessary 3D), which don't drain the film as it did with the second film but clearly obvious where much of "MIB 3's" enormous budget (reportedly over $200 million) went to. "MIB 3's" story arc in the final act is a nice twist, but altogether it's still too predictable, only proving that this franchise is showing its age. "Men in Black 3" is familiar but crowd-pleasing, entertaining fun and worth a look especially for Brolin and Smith.