No matter how hard you try when you see the number three at the end of the movie you're about to watch you automatically expect less from it, or is that just me?

Trilogies in the horror genre have a notorious reputation of (lets say it out loud) sucking.  I can pretty much count the kick ass horror films that end with the number three on two fingers.  Actually very few genre films even deserve a third visit and I'm not going to lie to you, I wasn't sure the MIB franchise made the cut.  I don't know about you but I could have lived without hooking up again with J and K.

But of course in this day and age if even one more dollar can be squeezed from a story idea it is all but guaranteed that said project will be greenlit and at your local theater sooner than later.

The good news is that MIB3 beats the odds and actually ends up being a fun, exciting, worth-while endeavor that actually kind of reinvents the franchise while at the same time paying homage to the very staple they created.

At its core MIB3 is a time travel tale, as J must travel back to 1969 to stop an event that will change history and end the world, as we know it.  Will Smith returns as does Tommy Lee Jones although Tommy Lee is actually in the film very little.  Instead Josh Brolin comes on board to play the younger version of K whom J hooks up with once he travels back to 1969.  Brolin does a magnificent job of keeping the character of K in tact while not copying or imitating Lee’s version.  It really is a joy to behold.

Equally impressive is the main baddie this time around, a particularly nasty fellow by the name of Boris the Animal.  Played wonderfully over the top by Jemaine Clement and unrecognizable in brilliant make up by Rick Baker.  He's as awkward to look at as he fun to watch explode on the screen.  While no real new ground is broken in the first two thirds of the film, it's all very well constructed and quite fun to watch.  The magic however lays in the last third of the film where a major plot twist is revealed that is amazingly touching and shines a whole new light on the entire franchise.

I have to admit, I really liked MIB3 and it serves as a nice ending point for what has now become a classic.  But will this be the end of the road for J and K?  Who knows for sure, they've certainly opened the door to going back in time and having younger actors hold the mantle, as I stated above Brolin is actually quite amazing as young K and I'm sure an equally impressive substitute could be found for Smith’s J. 

We'll have to wait and see if a fourth chapter in the MIB saga is meant to be but what I know for sure is that MIB3 is more than worthy of your time and money.

Go pick it up for some sci-fi/horror fun.