Marketing kills this movie.
Sonnefeld has shown himself to be a master of drolly funny movies. What he did with Addams' Family Values was great stuff. MIB just does not click. And if that wasn't bad enough, the cretins who market this movie have dedicated themselves to giving away EVERY set piece in the flick. Go to the movie and all you will be doing is filling in the gaps of what ties the "funny" moments together.
And how funny can it be if you've already seen the bit in a commercial or a trailer?
Answer: not. I wish these jerks would learn this lesson.
Even if the movie did provide first-run entertainment value, the set pieces are just not that funny. The bouncing ball goes on too long. Smith's and Fiorintino's supposed flirting when she's trying to inform him of something is leaden-plus. The battle with the Big Bug is as exciting as watching paint dry. Aliens threaten to blow the Earth to smithereens if something is not delivered. Whoopee.
They give one hour to meet their demand or is it the End Of Everything. This gets everyone as excited as attendees at a Valium convention. Huh? Plus the threatening aliens were impotent compared to the aliens who smithereened the Earth in the BBC production of The Hithhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. That is not a compliment.
The movie is a bust. The marketing campaign is simply the stake in its near lifeless heart. A shame too.
Movie's suitability for: