I saw MIB 4...

"Men in Black: International" is the fourth film in the satirical, science-fiction franchise, directed by F. Gary Gray and written by Matt Holloway and Art Marcum (known for their Iron Man/Punisher comic-book efforts), based on Lowell Cunningham's successful, Malibu series.  

"MIB: International" is a restart, if only for the lack of Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones's Agent J and K.  For the new, dark-lensed duo, we get Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson (reuniting from "Thor: Ragnarok") as Agent H and M respectively. Liam Neeson plays their boss, High T.  Their home base is British; the action, globetrotting. (To recall previous chapters, there's Emma Thompson's Agent O and good ol' Frank the Pug.)

The concept is as basic as those that preceded it: Morphing, aliens (Laurent and Larry Nicolas Bourgeois) wreck havoc in pursuit of an "ultimate" weapon. Agent H and M investigate after attaining the device through an indirect sojourn. 

Since this is a parody, H and M's aspirations don't always manifest as planned, lending icky goofiness and slapstick at every turn.  The antics eventually lead to a dire discovery right at MIB's hub, which gives the story a science-fiction, Watergate ambiance, for a lack of a better label. (During the investigation, Ralf Spall's Agent C tosses persistent doubt on H, but not enough to throw the irreverent hero off track. If anything, C's interference makes the story more interesting.)

For traditionalists, Smith and Jones (and let's not forget good ol' Rip Torn's Agent Zed) oozed oodles of comedic chemistry, but as hard as their act is to follow, so do Hemsworth and Thompson (as they proved in "Thor 3"); Neeson is on target, too, though that should go without saying. It's more a matter of getting acquainted with these new personalities within the two-hour slot: not an easy task considering how much scene-skidding there is.

The latter is Bondian staged (typically colliding with the incessant pratfalls) and complemented by Danny Elfman's barreling score. Unlike the CGI competition ("Godzilla, King of the Monsters '19" being at the top of the murky list), the sprees are nice and bright, though sometimes a little too fast for their own good. (If one is going to invest in state-of-the-art imagery, slow it down a tad here and there; let the audience appreciate the work that went into it.)

The extra-terrestrials (some cutesy, some scary) layer enough weirdness to match those of earlier installments, though at this point, some might detect a predictability to the queue. Still, I gotta give credit to Kumail Nanjiani's little Pawny for his chivalrous cheer, and Rebecca Ferguson's Riza is quite sexy as a three-armed, arms dealer.)  

Unfortunately, as bouncy as it is, "MIB: International" never reaches its own verve, but then why go all out with an unrecognizable reinvention?  It's a damned-if-you-do/damned-if-you-don't quandary, I suppose.  

Heck, why argue the film's variances? They are what they are. The movie entertains. Those who've enjoyed the previous films should dig this one, even if the original remains a classic distance from the pack.