Double Review: Men in Black:International & The Dead Don't Die

Two summer movies feature a ragtag team fighting foes not of this world while a strange occurrence appears in the night sky. Thor & Valkyrie take on the scum of the universe while Peter Venkman and Kylo Ren are left to deal with the undead. Despite the exciting premise, both films failed to connect with audiences. Are both deserving of such scrutiny? 

Agent M (Tessa Thompson) and Agent H (Chris Hemsworth)

Let's start with Men In Black: International, the first Men in Black movie in seven years and the first not to be directed by Barry Sonnenfeld who now serves as executive producer. F. Gary Gray takes over whose previous work include Friday, The Italian Job, Straight out of Compton and The Fate of the Furious. Ever since that fateful encounter with a baby alien and seeing her parents neuralyzed (fancy way of saying memory wiped) of the whole event, Molly Wright (Tessa Thompson) has been obsessed on finding the Men in Black and be part of that secret organization. On the day she does, Agent O (Emma Thompson, the only cast member to return), gives her a mission in London as a means to prove herself. She meets the division's head, Agent High T (Liam Nesson) and is assigned with the best field agent, H (Chris Hemsworth) on fighting the scum of the universe. 

There hasn't been a good Men in Black movie since the original from 1997. The sequel from 2003 was as one critic said  "a parody of the original" and seen as the worst in the trilogy. The third entry from 2012 was better than its dismal predecessor thanks to its time-travel plot and Josh Brolin as young Tommy Lee Jones but still not reaching the heights of the original. With neither Jones nor Will Smith returning as Agents K and J can Hemsworth and Thompson make this look good? 

In the the suits? Yes. The movie? No. MIB: International is yet another MIB movie that doesn't capture the wit or humor of the original by playing it safe and adding nothing new to the franchise. Hemsworth and Thompson don't carry the chemistry that Smith and Jones had. Smith was the cocky fish-out-of-water character while Jones was the gruff straight man teaching him the ropes. Instead of embodying his charm from Thor, Hemsworth carries the nuisance of his dumb blonde character from the Ghostbusters reboot. Thompson's character shares the same problem with Tomorrowland, and Dumbo (2019) of a know-it-all female character who instead of being empowering and inspiring comes off as smug and annoying. The movie has them talking non-stop as means to pass as funny when its actually padding to make the runtime longer. They can't even make for a quiet moment with out a tiresome quip. When the villains played by Laurent and Larry Nicolas Bourgeois stand-out more than the heroes, that's not a good sign. 

Agent O (Emma Thompson).

Emma Thompson is once again wasted in her role as Agent O, if you've seen Liam Nesson's recent roles you can easily guess what he does in this movie, and despite the ads showing Frank the pug and the Worm Guys from the original trilogy, don't get your hopes up, they only have one scene. 

Laurent and Larry Nicolas Bourgeois as The Twins. The only best part of the movie.

Despite the creative arsenal, this failed spin-off succeeds in making me prefer Men in Black II. Interestingly, that film originally was going to have young leads replace Jones and Smith in case they couldn't return. Now we see why that was a bad idea. 

Final Verdict: D+

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Officers Ronnie Paterson (Adam Driver) and Cliff Robertson (Bill Murray).

If you go into this movie expecting a zombie comedy filled with action, adrenaline, fright, and gore, you'll get that last detail but will have better luck with Shaun of the Dead or Zombieland. The Dead Don't Die comes from Jim Jarmusch whose known for making slow movies with deadpan humor, and not much attention to plot. If you are easily bored or expecting a coherent story, then this is not for you, but if you have the patience and seen plenty of zombie movies, The Dead Don't Die makes for a unique horror comedy in the same vein of What We Do With the Shadows.

Iggy Pop as Zombie Number #2

It's a beautiful and sunny day in the quiet and quaint town of Centerville, Officers Cliff Robertson (Bill Murray) and Ronnie Paterson (Adam Driver) go on their usual rounds until they find a pair of corpses. Peterson immediately deduces the work of zombies and sure enough, the dead rise from their graves and start devouring the town's residents. Among the frightened survivors include another cop (Chloë Sevigny), a nerdy gas station owner (Caleb Laundry Jones), a racist farmer (Steve Buscemi), a hardware store owner (Danny Glover), a girl out of town (Selena Gomez), a peculiar undertaker (Tilda Swinton), and the always reliable Hermit Bob (Tom Waits).  

Rosie Perez reporting on the strange phenomena.  

Remember those cartoons from the nighties like Freakazoid! and Animaniacs? Fourth-wall comedy, random hilarity and trolling audience expectations? That's this movie but minus the zany energy. It even ends like a Chuck Jones cartoon that I won't say which but lets just say it involves a certain cue ball shaped character. 

Hermit Bob as Tom Waits. 

Perfect casting with Bill Murray in his second zombie comedy only this time armed and dangerous. No one can pull off deadpan delivery better than him, and Adam Driver delivers an equal amount of droll with comedic results. Just when you think you have the movie figured out it pulls the rug underneath then tosses it into the incinerator. It isn't afraid to go in certain directions in its determination in being unpredictable. Unlike The Secret Life of Pets 2 and MIB: International, this movie makes good use of its ensemble cast whether in a major role or quick cameo.   

  

Tilda Swinton as Zelda Winston.

If there was one pay-off that was underwhelming its the sub-plot that takes place at a Juvenile Detention Hall. All it does is provide exposition that could have been said by any of the other characters of the town. The individuals we follow start promising but in the end have no effect on the plot. Being a Jamusch film, I guess that was the point along with many other tidbits but this one felt the most unsatisfactory. 

Zack (Luka Sabbat), Zoe (Selena Gomez) and Jack (Austin Butler).

The Don't Don't Die is an odd mix of The Walking Dead and Paterson, Jarmusch's last film and one of my personal favorites. A calm slice-of-life picture with a focus on stillness that happens to feature zombies. Not the kind of genres you would think to combine but leave to Jarmusch on making it happen. Funny how the slow and deadpan zombie comedy was more entertaining than the fast action-packed sci-fi comedy.  

Roberston, Mindy (Chloë Sevigny), and Peterson getting ready for the zombie attack. 

Final Verdict: A-