Grade:
Transfiguring Adoption awarded this book 1 Hoots out of 5 based on how useful it will be for a foster/adoptive family. [Learn more about our Hoot grading system here]
Movie Info:
- Rating: PG-13
- Genre: Fantasy/Sci-Fi
- Runtime: 1hr 55 mins
- Studio: Universal
From the Cover of Men in Black: International by Universal:
“The Men in Black have expanded to cover the globe but so have the villains of the universe. To keep everyone safe, decorated Agent H and determined rookie M join forces — an unlikely pairing that just might work. When aliens that can take the form of any human arrive on Earth, H and M embark on a globe-trotting adventure to save the agency — and ultimately the world — from their mischievous plans.”
MIB International is the new reboot to the classic MIB series. If you or your kids have never seen the first trilogy of MIB, then that’s okay. This movie payed homage to the original without relying on the viewer having a knowledge of the MIB universe. I was a huge fan of the original MIB movies as they came out when I was a child, and I started to have nostalgia reverting me back to simpler times when seeing these movies on the big screen for the first time. This movie was enjoyable, and the romantic chemistry between Agent H and Agent M added an interesting layer to the newest MIB movie that the leading stars of the original films did not have. I took my mother to see this film with me, and despite never seeing the original MIB movies, she was able to keep up with the plot and enjoyed herself.
Despite this movie being entertaining at face value, due to some adult themes, I would recommend that families with sensitive children or emotionally immature children skip this movie and make it a date night film instead. This movie included implied sex scenes, images of adult toys, sexual innuendos, fighting, drug references, and people dying.
** Spoilers Could Be Ahead **
How Is This Relevant To Adoption & Foster Care?
Through a few flashbacks, we see Agent M have an encounter with an alien lifeform when she was a young child. She watched her family get nebulized, which causes them to lose their memory of the alien encounter they witnessed. Other than this brief flashback, nothing else is mentioned about Agent M’s family, except when she was impromptu interviewing for a position at MIB headquarters when she mentioned that she has nothing holding her back from joining. She doesn’t have a partner, a family, or even a pet. We never get to know what happened to Agent M’s family. Maybe they are just distant, but this might be something our children notice given their previous experience with their biological family.
Nothing is mentioned about Agent M’s family through the movie, but it is mentioned several times that the lead MIB agent, High T, is like a father figure to him. Throughout the movie it is obvious that they share a special connection, but the ending leaves Agent H broken hearted about losing his father figure. This is definitely something that our children have experienced and can lead to questions or even tears about their situation.
Discussion Points:
- Losing a loved one.
Agent H lost a friend and his father figure in this movie. This can cause a lot of unresolved trauma to resurface in our children. Talking about what it felt like to lose the person can be really helpful. Whether our children have lost someone through death or legal separation, the grieving process never ends. It’s important to be sensitive when discussing this, even if they may not have many memories with the person. - Being persistent pays off.
Throughout the beginning of the film, Agent M’s goal is to become an MIB agent. She is seen interviewing at the FBI and CIA attempting to be hired as a MIB agent, which she failed at. She eventually takes matters into her own hands and is able to track down MIB agents to their headquarters. Despite being constantly told no, she refused to give up. Sometimes our kids get told no and eventually give up. Being able to see someone be persistent and reach their goal can be very empowering for our children. - Create your own alien activity It’s summer time. You are probably tired of your kids saying “I’m bored” every 10 minutes. Why not have your kids create their own alien that randomly appears in their room? This is a great way to keep your kids busy while also providing some sensory stimulation. All you need to do it have paper, markers, and items to create your alien with. This can be done using glue and glitter, feathers, beads, or pipe cleaners just to name a few. You can draw the alien outline for them or print one offline for free. Then have them color and decorate their alien as they wish. For an added bonus, have them come up with personality traits of their aliens. This will help also help them work on their characteristic vocabulary. A few examples would include mischievous, shy, energetic, etc.
Cautionary Points:
- Agent High T was not a father figure, but instead an alien.
Agent H’s attachment to Agent High T was fatherly. They shared familial banter back and forth and positive affect towards each other. However, it was later discovered that Agent High T was an alien monster and had altered Agent H’s memory on a mission together in the past. This can be devastating for many of our children who have had similar attachments to caregivers for them to turn into a monster. - References to sex, drugs, and violence.
Throughout the movie, several scenes included sexual innuendo such as humping or displaying various adult sex toys. In a club scene, Agent H inhales an alien substance which is understood to be a homage to cocaine, especially considering the jokes made at his expense. This can be really triggering for children exposed to inappropriate behavior and substance abuse from their biological parents or others in their lives. Younger children may not catch the references, but the older children will, and this may cause them to start asking questions that might not be appropriate for their age.
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NOTE: Inclusion on these lists does not necessarily mean endorsement. Furthermore, with all our resources, we highly recommend you preview them first to determine if there are any trauma triggers that your child may not be ready to handle. Transfiguring Adoption does not intend for its reviewers nor its reviews to be professional, medical or legal advice. These reviews and discussion guides are intended to help parents to better be able to connect and understand their children who come from traumatic backgrounds.
