Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson vs Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones

Sometimes
when a popular franchise gets a sequel after a long hiatus, the
original actors may not be as interested in playing the same
characters. That’s why you either recast new actors or make up new
characters. Neither of these methods work, BTW, they seem to only
make people yell like crazy something about their childhood being
ruined. But let’s disregard the opinion of those whiners for a bit
and take a look at a real example – “Men
in Black: International”.

Was it a good idea to make this sidequel (like a side-sequel) without Will Smith and/or Tommy Lee Jones? Which team did a better job at entertaining the viewers? And, most importantly, does the MiB franchise still hold up? Let’s try to find out!

1)
Old VS New

Straight
to the point: is the new duo more fun to watch? The answer is …
it’s complicated. You see, Smith and Jones had their own thing going
on, the “old pro and a rookie”, let’s call it. Almost all of the
chemistry and most of the jokes were based on that one dichotomy.
What about Thor and Valkyrie? This is where it gets tricky. Both of
their characters are goofy. One’s a semi-serious newbie and the other
one’s Chris Hemsworth playing himself, basically. Who am I to say
which is better?

2)
The Main Villain

We
can’t compare the partners, without looking at the Big Baddies. The
previous MiB movies have a distinct advantage here, as there were
three movies, so let’s go with the first one – The Roach vs The
Twins (but also Liam Neeson’s agent T and the Hive). The Roach was
definitely one of the grossest things I’ve seen in a non-R-rated
movie, he… it had uncanny personality and physical quirks, which
made it memorable. The new threat, in my opinion, was much more
forgettable. So much so that I forgot what that “end boss” was
called. Yes, a misdirect with the Twins going after H and M was a
nice touch, but we didn’t get to spend any time with agent T or,
actually, the Hive in T’s body.

3)
The Action

Let’s
not beat around the bush. MiB is not some high-brow art-house
project. It’s a classic summer blockbuster, excellent for switching
your brain off and just relaxing for two hours, watching things
explode. In this category I don’t think the classic MiB movies can
stand up to the sidequel. Why? Because the adventures of Chris and
Tessa take them all over the globe – Paris, Morocco, London etc.,
instead of showing us only the good old New York. More is certainly
better when it comes to MiB!

4)
The Gear

To
be honest, the only MiB gadgets that immediately come to my mind are
the Neuralyzer, the Noisy Cricket, and the MiB-mobile with it’s big
shiny “Press Me” button. Two out of these three were in both
iterations of the franchise, so is there something more memorable in
the new movie than the Cricket? It’s hard to say, as I’m fresh out of
the theater writing this, but I really liked the hover bike and the
main McGuffin of the movie -the Big Planet-Destroying Gun! Will I
remember them in a year or five? Probably not. So what’s the final
verdict?

5)
The Final Verdict

Taking
a closer look at both teams and their enemies, it becomes quite clear
that we’re talking about two totally different approaches. It would
be like comparing the
Avengers
and the
X-Men (comic book versions)
– they’re both kinda similar, but have enough distinctive
properties to make them feel different. If you like J+K more –
that’s fine, as is liking H+M. Just don’t go about screaming that the
new movie ruined your childhood, because all you have to do is watch
those classic MIB movies.