Men In Black: International

(M) ★★

Director: F. Gary Gray.

Cast:  Chris Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson, Liam Neeson, Kumail Nanjiani, Rebecca Ferguson, Rafe Spall, Laurent Bourgeois, Larry Bourgeois, Emma Thompson.

"I really shouldn't have had so much acid before driving."

After almost squishing the series with the dire Men In Black II, the brains behind this comedic sci-fi franchise bounced back with the good-enough MIB3 - a time-travelling saga that saw Will Smith's Agent J teaming with two versions of Agent K (played by Tommy Lee Jones and Josh Brolin) to save the earth from the scum of the universe yet again.

But there is no Agent J or K to be seen in this spin-off, which is obviously aimed at pitting a new crew of mono-initialled besuited spooks against a new rogue's gallery of intergalactic scum.

With Neeson overseeing Hemsworth and Thompson (who shared screen time in Thor: Ragnarok) in the sunnies and suits, the series would seem to be in goods hands. But if there was a four-word phrase to sum up MIB: International, it's "should be, but isn't".

Our heroes this time are agents H (Hemsworth) and M (Thompson). He's the cocky hotshot still cruising on past triumphs; she's the rookie so determined to join the secret MIB organisation that she manages to infiltrate it and get herself a job interview.

Their first assignment together is looking after a hard-partying alien royal visiting Earth, which ends badly, leading to H and M being pursued by two dimension-warping twins. But it seems there is a mole in MIB, so who can H and M turn to for help?

So back to those four words: "should be, but isn't". With the charismatic pairing of Thompson and Hemsworth, MIB: International should be funny, but it isn't. Its Big Bads of two acrobatic space-bending twins and a three-armed Rebecca Ferguson should be imposing, but they're not. Its plot of intergalactic intrigue and internal imbroglios should be exciting but isn't. Its set pieces should be exhilarating but they're not. A tiny alien sidekick named Pawny (voiced by Nanjiani) should be funny, but isn't.

This level of disappointment is weird considering the cast isn't terrible and the plot itself is okay. Thompson and Hemsworth have charisma and chemistry to burn, which prevents it from being a total waste of time, but they bounce from one humdrum sequence to another. There's none of the vibrant spirit or humour or originality of the '97 original. Having said that, you won't find yourself actively hating the film, but afterwards, you'll struggle to remember much about it that's in any way impressive.

The lack of a formidable villain really lets it down. Ferguson's appearance as supposedly infamous intergalactic arms dealer Riza is too fleeting and unimpressive, while the Bourgeois twins aren't imposing at all. Compare this to Vincent D'Onofrio as Edgar the Bug, or Jemaine Clement as Boris the Animal in parts I and III respectively, and the inadequacies of these antagonists here are all the more apparent.

It's not that MIB: International is bad per se, it's just really plain. It's possible the series can limp on from this, but it's hard to see how or why it will. Despite the potential of its playground, this spin-off is weirdly unambitious, unadventurous and unexciting.

I doubt this is the last we've heard of the MIB, but it will take the return of Will Smith to breath life back into a franchise that is otherwise drifting in dead space.