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glitter_n_goreI went to see MIB: International last week, partially to celebrate getting a pay raise at work, partially because I will watch literally anything with Tessa Thompson. All three previous Men In Black movies are cherished in my family, and have been since we saw the first one in theaters back in 1997. We still quote them endlessly. Yes, all of them, although the first is a definite favorite.
So I approached the new entry with equal parts excitement and trepidation. It was . . . fine. I laughed out loud a fair few times. I liked most of the characters. The plot was straightforward and easy to follow, no surprises really, but it was fun. So yeah, it was fine. About on par with the other two sequels, but not going to overtake the original in a hurry. Pretty much what I expected. It was also one of the most sparsely attended opening nights I've been to in a while.
My overall impression can accurately be summed up with this awkward thumbs-up GIF:
Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson exchanging thumbs-up, her with a slightly pained expression.
Source.
Let me explain: Tessa Thompson plays M, a brilliant amateur astronomer and computer hacker who has been trying to track down the MIB and join their ranks since she was a kid. Her partner, H (Chris Hemsworth), is a highly respected agent with a lengthy track record, and arrogance to spare. Their mission, should they should to accept it, is to stop a powerful MacGuffin from falling into the possession of dangerous, murder-hungry aliens.
M is a hyper-competent female lead, intelligent, intuitive, and compassionate all at once, and blessedly did not fall into a retread of the same ground covered by Will Smith in the original. She is somewhat dazzled by the newness of the world of MIB once she gets there, but she's done her research and takes it in stride. More importantly, the filmmakers understand that we don't need to spend much time getting acquainted with the headquarters building, or watching M go through her training exercises, before her recruiter (the always delightful Emma Thompson) decides she's worthy. We know the drill by now. She's confident and determined, and marches her way to the top like a sci-fi Hermione Granger.
Unfortunately, M's overqualified status throws H's lackadaisical swagger into sharp relief, and I realized how tired I am of this type of character. The snarky, experienced, jerk-with-a-heart-of-slightly-less-jerk guy who always shows up late, drinks on the job, and never gets into trouble for his transgressions, really ought to be retired to the Bad Trope Bin by now. Ugh. Dude, you are my second-favorite Chris. You have disappointed me twice this year. Do better. (You have three guesses who my favorite-favorite Chris is, and the first two don't count.)
What's fascinating about that juxtaposition isn't just that the smarter, more ambitious, more creative-minded girl in the room is pulling most of the weight in this partnership. We've seen that dynamic plenty of times. It's that this is her story. Everything is told through her perspective, the plot keeps pace with her revelations, she's a solid participant in the action-heavy scenes, and it's her empathy for aliens who are otherwise dismissed or misunderstood that pays off in life-saving ways.
And yet, H is still here, reminding us he's the one with the impressive war stories to his name, and this one mission he and High T* went on years ago drives the plot in the end. And eventually he gets to learn a Very Important Lesson about friendship or personal responsibility or something.
*Liam Neeson, head of the European division--Mom and I cracked up, but we were the only ones in our theater who "got" it.
So, that's the disconnect I'm feeling here. The narrative is both elevating her (which is awesome) and letting him off the hook (less awesome) at the same time, which is disorienting on many levels. I think we're supposed to find H funny, the rule-breaking comic relief to M's pin-sharp "straight man," but it doesn't quite work.
Which is why that awkward thumbs-up crystallizes everything wrong and right here. He's acknowledging her as a valuable teammate, but in this slightly pandering lip-service way, which earns him a pained half-smile in return. M doesn't need to be told she's valuable--she knows. Having him throw her a bone like that is weird.
I do want to mention that M remains happily single and dedicated to her job throughout the story, and I appreciated that a LOT. Usually when a character, most often a female-presenting character, mentions that they have never been in love and find relationships distracting and useless--which M does, twice--the narrative finds a way to pair them off by the end, reinforcing the value of romantic (usually heteronormative) love in spite of whatever circumstance they're dealing with. But that moment never comes here. M gets to be her awesome self without having a forced love interest shoved at her. That's rare, and I want to see more of it.
Basically, I want to see more of this character, and others like her, but with a better team and a better story to let her shine the way she deserves to.
(Cross-posted torhoda_rants.)
So I approached the new entry with equal parts excitement and trepidation. It was . . . fine. I laughed out loud a fair few times. I liked most of the characters. The plot was straightforward and easy to follow, no surprises really, but it was fun. So yeah, it was fine. About on par with the other two sequels, but not going to overtake the original in a hurry. Pretty much what I expected. It was also one of the most sparsely attended opening nights I've been to in a while.
My overall impression can accurately be summed up with this awkward thumbs-up GIF:
Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson exchanging thumbs-up, her with a slightly pained expression.
Source.
Let me explain: Tessa Thompson plays M, a brilliant amateur astronomer and computer hacker who has been trying to track down the MIB and join their ranks since she was a kid. Her partner, H (Chris Hemsworth), is a highly respected agent with a lengthy track record, and arrogance to spare. Their mission, should they should to accept it, is to stop a powerful MacGuffin from falling into the possession of dangerous, murder-hungry aliens.
M is a hyper-competent female lead, intelligent, intuitive, and compassionate all at once, and blessedly did not fall into a retread of the same ground covered by Will Smith in the original. She is somewhat dazzled by the newness of the world of MIB once she gets there, but she's done her research and takes it in stride. More importantly, the filmmakers understand that we don't need to spend much time getting acquainted with the headquarters building, or watching M go through her training exercises, before her recruiter (the always delightful Emma Thompson) decides she's worthy. We know the drill by now. She's confident and determined, and marches her way to the top like a sci-fi Hermione Granger.
Unfortunately, M's overqualified status throws H's lackadaisical swagger into sharp relief, and I realized how tired I am of this type of character. The snarky, experienced, jerk-with-a-heart-of-slightly-less-jerk guy who always shows up late, drinks on the job, and never gets into trouble for his transgressions, really ought to be retired to the Bad Trope Bin by now. Ugh. Dude, you are my second-favorite Chris. You have disappointed me twice this year. Do better. (You have three guesses who my favorite-favorite Chris is, and the first two don't count.)
What's fascinating about that juxtaposition isn't just that the smarter, more ambitious, more creative-minded girl in the room is pulling most of the weight in this partnership. We've seen that dynamic plenty of times. It's that this is her story. Everything is told through her perspective, the plot keeps pace with her revelations, she's a solid participant in the action-heavy scenes, and it's her empathy for aliens who are otherwise dismissed or misunderstood that pays off in life-saving ways.
And yet, H is still here, reminding us he's the one with the impressive war stories to his name, and this one mission he and High T* went on years ago drives the plot in the end. And eventually he gets to learn a Very Important Lesson about friendship or personal responsibility or something.
*Liam Neeson, head of the European division--Mom and I cracked up, but we were the only ones in our theater who "got" it.
So, that's the disconnect I'm feeling here. The narrative is both elevating her (which is awesome) and letting him off the hook (less awesome) at the same time, which is disorienting on many levels. I think we're supposed to find H funny, the rule-breaking comic relief to M's pin-sharp "straight man," but it doesn't quite work.
Which is why that awkward thumbs-up crystallizes everything wrong and right here. He's acknowledging her as a valuable teammate, but in this slightly pandering lip-service way, which earns him a pained half-smile in return. M doesn't need to be told she's valuable--she knows. Having him throw her a bone like that is weird.
I do want to mention that M remains happily single and dedicated to her job throughout the story, and I appreciated that a LOT. Usually when a character, most often a female-presenting character, mentions that they have never been in love and find relationships distracting and useless--which M does, twice--the narrative finds a way to pair them off by the end, reinforcing the value of romantic (usually heteronormative) love in spite of whatever circumstance they're dealing with. But that moment never comes here. M gets to be her awesome self without having a forced love interest shoved at her. That's rare, and I want to see more of it.
Basically, I want to see more of this character, and others like her, but with a better team and a better story to let her shine the way she deserves to.
(Cross-posted to
rhoda_rants.)