Ten years after the enormous success of the first “Men in Black” movie, the men are back for a third film. Agent J, played by Will Smith, is now a top-level senior agent and still the partner of Agent K, played by Tommy Lee Jones.

The film kicks off with the escape of Boris the Animal, a murderous alien whose evil schemes were stopped by K more than 40 years before. Filled with desire for vengeance, Boris uses top secret time travel technology to go back in time to kill K and reshape the course of history. Only Agent J realizes what happened and is forced to follow Boris to 1969 in order to save K’s life and the fate of the world.

The storyline was well thought out and well executed. It was very interesting to watch historical events of 1969, such as the Apollo space launch, come to life and become infused with extraterrestrial explanations.

There were many enjoyable plot twists and the 3D special effects made Men in Black thrilling. The amusing dynamic between Agent J and Agent K is preserved and the film also gives insight into both J and K’s backgrounds, and explores K’s stone-like character by revealing him in his youth.

The film’s greatest strength was its characters. Smith was very comedic and his performance as Agent J was great. Josh Brolin played the young Agent K in the late 1960s and did an excellent job of channeling Jones’ original depiction of him, especially in his voice and expressions.

There were many eccentric and funny new characters. One was the deranged and vicious Boris the Animal, played by Jemaine Clement. Another was Michael Stuhlbarg playing Griffin, a peculiar future-seeing alien that aids the Men in Black in their mission to save Earth. The film also featured Bill Hader in a scene-stealing depiction of Andy Warhol.

Overall, the third Men in Black was hilarious and easily rivaled the original Men in Black films. Anyone who liked the first two films will love seeing the Men in Black back on the big screen for a third film.

Aran Kirschenmann, 15, is a contributing writer for the Bellevue Reporter and a sophomore at The International School in Bellevue. You may reach and connect with her on her Facebook page “The Young Critic.”