The Chris Hemsworth Sci-Fi Action Blockbuster Everyone Already Forgot
In the summer of 2019, the Men in Black made a comeback to the silver screen in Men in Black: International, marking the fourth installment in the iconic sci-fi action-comedy franchise. However, this time around, there was a noticeable absence: the familiar faces of Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones were replaced by two new stars, Marvel’s Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson from the Creed franchise.
Directed by F. Gary Gray and written by Art Marcum and Matt Holloway, Men in Black: International aimed to reinvigorate the beloved franchise with a fresh perspective; it didn’t exactly accomplish that goal, but it is currently available to watch on Hulu.
Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson star in Men in Black: International
The idea of a fourth Men in Black film had been floating around since the release of Men in Black 3 in 2012. Fans were eager for more extraterrestrial adventures, and in February 2018, it was officially announced that Chris Hemsworth would take the lead in this spin-off film.
Joining him was the talented Tessa Thompson, who had previously worked with Hemsworth in Thor: Ragnorak.
Chris Hemsworth’s Men in Black: International opens with a flashback to 1996 in Brooklyn, where young Molly Wright witnesses her parents being neura-lyzed by Men in Black agents. Fast forward 23 years, and Molly, played by Tessa Thompson, has dedicated her life to finding the elusive Men in Black and uncovering the truth about extraterrestrial life.
Her journey leads her to the MIB headquarters in New York City, where she impresses Agent O, played by Emma Thompson, and earns the nickname Agent M.
M is soon dispatched to the MIB’s London branch, where she meets High T (Liam Neeson) and Agent H (Chris Hemsworth). Together, they face this movie’s big threat: the Hive, a parasitic race with the ability to merge with the DNA of conquered species. The trio embarks on a mission to stop the Hive from wreaking havoc on Earth.
While Men in Black: International had a promising cast led by Chris Hemsworth, the film faced its fair share of challenges during production.
While Men in Black: International had a promising cast led by Chris Hemsworth, the film faced its fair share of challenges during production. Mainly, there were clashes between director F. Gary Gray and producer Walter F. Parkes that began after a critical executive overseeing the project left the studio.
Parkes, who had final cut authority on the film, played a significant role in overseeing rewrites and even took on traditional directing duties, which created a power struggle between Parkes and Gray and ended up significantly impacting the movie’s final tone.
Director F. Gary Gray contemplated leaving the production several times due to these creative differences, but Sony convinced him to stay. Ultimately, however, the studio chose Parkes’ final cut for theatrical release, which was a very different version than what Gray had initially had in mind.
Though still featuring Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson as the new faces of MIB, the final version was much less politically charged and featured more watered-down commentary on social issues than the original script was meant to include, which also significantly changed the storyline.
The film was marked rotten by Rotten Tomatoes, which gave the movie a 23 percent approval score due to lack of originality.
Chris Hemsworth’s Men in Black: International made its grand entrance into the world with a premiere in New York City on June 11, 2019, followed by its global theatrical release on June 14, 2019.
The film was marked rotten by Rotten Tomatoes, which gave the movie a 23 percent approval score due to lack of originality. Metacritic wasn’t much kinder, with a weighted average score of 38, indicating generally unfavorable reviews.
Despite these mixed reviews, some critics praised the chemistry between Tessa Thompson and Chris Hemsworth, acknowledging their contribution to the film’s entertainment value.
The film also didn’t fair as well at the box office as executives at Sony probably hoped it would. The Chris Hemsworth blockbuster managed to drag enough people to the theaters to become the most popular film during its opening weekend, but ticket sales quickly began to decline after that.
The Chirs Hemsworth film had a production budget of $94-110 million, with additional marketing expenses estimated at $120 million. In total, it needed to gross around $220-300 million worldwide to break even.
The film achieved a worldwide gross of $253.9 million, hovering around the break-even mark, most likely due to a combination of factors, including competition from other big releases and the challenge of revitalizing a somewhat dated franchise.
While Men in Black: International couldn’t be called a successful attempt at bringing back the 90s classic, the film certainly made for a unique chapter in the saga of the galaxy’s most secretive protectors.
The movie was anchored by the charismatic presence of Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson, but even these actors couldn’t make up for the production challenges the production crew faced behind the scenes.
While the fourth installment in the Men in Black franchise was quickly forgotten about, maybe the upcoming Men in Black anime will do a better job of revitalizing the franchise.
