Men in Black, III: Story Analysis

Spoiler alert! Don’t read this if you haven’t seen the movie.

I just saw MIB3. Very cool movie, I found myself laughing almost continuously. Josh Brolin did an amazing job as the young agent K. The theme of the movie seemed to be the importance of telling the truth, as this issue came up in a number of different contexts.

My attempt at analysis: Plot point 1: When agent J decides to go back in time to save his partner. Mid Point (I wasn’t watching my clock here) but I think it must be the point where Griffin shows them the Astranet. At this point the heroes can stop reacting and start moving toward the resolution, stopping Boris. Plot Point 2 should be the moment when all hope is lost, just prior to the final chase. Since the “final chase” is the moon launch sequence, plot point 2 ought to be when agent J and K have their falling out about going to Florida.

Protagonist: Agent J. What he wants: to save his partner, agent K. Antagonist: Boris. Relationship character: I think it ought to be Griffin, because he’s the one who expresses the theme, the importance of telling the truth.

Things I thought didn’t work: Having J as a kid standing on the beach right after the moon launch. Why was he there? Explanation of why K never smiles or says anything–missing, as near as I can tell. Explanation of why O and K aren’t together. Also missing.

Things I would change: I wouldn’t have agent J’s father or young agent J be the source of K’s emotional devastation / shutdown. What would make more sense to me is if agent O and K had a love child who was killed in the end sequence by Boris. That would have put emotional distance between the two and contributed to agent K’s shutdown. A baby wouldn’t have much to contribute to the story/action, so he/she would have to be a time traveller–so I would change Griffin from being an alien to a human time-traveller. Of course, that would be too much of a downer for a comedy such as MIB3, so the resolution might have to be a new timeline where that child survived.

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