… subjecting the franchise’s zippy cornball energy to committee rethink and patchwork solutions could have been toxic, and the sequel survives with the original’s spirit largely intact. … a strangely low-key manner, as though this were merely a midseason episode of a long-running series, rather than a comeback after a decade away. This serves the movie well, however, as it’s clear the filmmakers aren’t simply expecting to coast on audience goodwill.” — Andrew Barker, Variety

“To move forward, the story jumps backwards — to the summer of 1969, when the Mets were destined to win the World Series and astronauts were preparing to walk on the moon. …This is a winning plan for a lot of reasons, beginning with the axiom that, as the crew of the USS Enterprise demonstrated in ‘Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home’ back in ancient 1986, it’s always fun when fancy folks from the sci-fi future are forced to fumble with the less elegant technology of the past…. MIB’s auteur director Barry Sonnenfeld captures the nostalgic hopefulness of the era.” — Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly

Brolin as Tommy Lee Jones
“Brolin’s [performance] is a feat of egolessness in which one actor completely subsumes himself into the style and sound of another. The performance works as an optical illusion: Our eye sees Brolin, but our brain is fooled into seeing Agent K and, through him, the craggy, beloved Jones made youthful again. ‘Men in Black 3′ is essentially a bait-and-switch — a movie that promises one star and delivers another — but because the imposture is so well-crafted, so serenely inventive, we accept the bargain. As far as the studio sees it, everybody wins: Tommy Lee Jones gets a paycheck and a vacation, while the young audiences of America are spared the horror of spending 106 minutes with an old person.” — Ty Burr, The Boston Globe

You don’t need to study up on the previous installments or master a body of bogus fanboy lore to enjoy this movie for the breezy pop throwaway it is. Your expectations may be pleasantly low, and you may therefore be pleasantly surprised when they are exceeded. … The first two ‘Men in Black’ movies did some spoofing of the conventions of the black and white, cross-generational buddy picture, but the third one finds its way back to the heart of the genre. It manages, in the end, to be touching as well as hectic and whimsical, and to send a few interesting thematic bubbles into the air, having to do with lost fathers, obscure regrets and racial reconciliation.” — A.O. Scott, The New York Times

“As good as Brolin is, though, the novelty wears off quickly, and we’re once again left with the realization that there’s no substance to the script… But the most disappointing part of all: Frank the talking pug is nowhere to be found. The movie is a dog anyway without him.” — Christy Lemire, The Associated Press

“Let me say that although I liked the first ‘MiB’ movie, I wasn’t particularly looking forward to this belated sequel. But I had fun. It has an ingenious plot, bizarre monsters, audacious cliff-hanging, and you know what? A closing scene that adds a new and sort of touching dimension to the characters of J and K.” — Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun Times