Men in Black: International  ★★

THE fourth Men in Black film should be re-titled Men in Grey.

Apart from a humorous voice performance from comedian Kumail Nanjiani, Men in Black: International is generally a dull affair.

The story is pedestrian, the effects largely uninteresting and Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Tompkins, while decent actors, can’t recreate the chemistry of unlikely pairing Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones back in 1997.

Come to think of it, I’m not even sure Smith and Jones could recreate it for the 2002 and 2012 sequels which are barely memorable.

Despite the seven year gap, the makers of Men in Black: International still expect the audience to be able to fill in all the back-story gaps iwith their intimate recall of the series’ set-up.

The new film retreads old ground but doesn’t really explain who and what have gone before so young, or old, forgetful, audiences will be playing catch-up for the first 20-odd minutes.

Ultimately it doesn’t really matter because the threadbare story can still be summed up in ‘secrets agents protect the world from aliens’.

Actually I forgot (the film is slipping from my mind already) they are also looking for a mole in the MIB organisation, the identity of whom you can see coming even if you’re not in the cinema.

Tessa Tompkins is a very good, versatile actress and tries to make the most of her moments and Nanjiani has fun as the voice of a little alien ally; but I’m starting to have my doubts about Hemsworth who gives his usual performance in that faux English accent.

During the past 17 years in Hollywood Hemsworth has made 22 films (about) and played Thor in nine of them. That’s nearly half the times he’s in a film he’s playing Thor.

Don’t get me wrong, Thor is a good character and Hemsworth plays him well. But of the 13 other films I reckon he has been exceptional in just one – as the racing driver James Hunt in Ron Howard’s Rush.

Maybe Men in Black: International and Hemsworth are a good fit after all.