Watch: Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones return for first peek at ‘Men In Black 3’ trailer

Okay… I’ll admit it.  This entire trailer is worth it for the punchline.

Before we discuss the first theatrical trailer for “Men In Black 3,” let me ask you a completely snark-free question.  How many of you are actually excited for a third film in the “Men In Black” franchise?

See, I think this is an example of a genuine franchise, a premise so flexible that you can drop different actors and actresses in as time wears in and salaries rise.  I don’t necessarily think that “Men In Black” has to star Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones.  Then again, I’m not really even sure how people feel about the first one and the second one, a full decade after the second film and a mind-boggling fifteen years after the first one.  Was it really 1997?  The same summer as “The Fifth Element”?  Because that seems like forever and a half ago, and I can’t imagine the cast of “The Fifth Element” continuing that now.

Wait… Milla as Leeloo Dallas Moooteepass again and 2012-era Bruce Willis in another giant-budget Luc Besson SF film?  I take it back.  I can TOOOOOTALLY imagine that now, and in fact, I’m irate we’re not getting it.

But I digress.  The point is that there’s a trailer now for “Men In Black 3,” and it seems like about 99.9% of the stuff we see here is from the first act of the film, maybe 30 total minutes.  This trailer seems to be setting up the Big Idea this time, which depended largely on casting, and the moment you see… well, go look at it and we’ll pick up afterwards.

Yep.  Josh Brolin as Tommy Lee Jones is… perfect.  It’s like they dubbed in Tommy Lee Jones, which I’m hoping they did not.  I hope what we just heard is really Josh Brolin, because if so, forget about special effects and aliens and everything else… I’ll go see this just so I can see Josh Brolin play an entire role as Tommy Lee Jones playing that role.

I’ll be honest with you… I’ve heard some pretty wild stories about what a troubled production this has been, and there’s been a whole lot of work and a whole lot of money to get to this place.  Sony is determined to get this one right, and in my opinion, this trailer makes a pretty big promise, and it also looks like Barry Sonnenfeld has exactly reproduced the aesthetic of the first one.

“Men In Black 3” comes out the day before I turn Really Really Old, May 25, 2012.

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