Last week, those thoughtful people at Film 4 screened the first three MIB movies in the three days leading up to the release of MIB: International. 

Sadly, those curtain raisers only served to remind us that, like so many franchise sequels, every subsequent MIB outing was ever so slightly worse than the one before. While the first was brilliant, the second was simply an enjoyable repeat of the first and Men In Black 3, while still fun, suffered from a frantic, messy and over-complicated plot. 

The IMBD scores say it all really; the first scored 7.3, the second 6.1, the third 6.8. 

Now, here we are at number four; a paltry 5.6. 

Despite the presence of Emma Thompson, Liam Neeson, Rafe Spall and the proven superhero duo of Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson, MIB: International falls way short of expectations.

The plot has more holes in it than a Warburton’s giant crumpet, the character development is non-existent and the heavy reliance on shiny guns gets very, very tedious, especially when Tessa Thompson’s character, Agent M, seems magically to know how to shoot all of them without any apparent weapons training whatsoever. 

Even the monsters aren’t as well realised as they have been previously.

Having said all that, Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson still have the personal chemistry that we first saw in the 2017 superhero film Thor: Ragnarok and Emma Thompson is always a delight although we don’t get to see very much of her. If you want an undemanding afternoon of silliness and you’re not too bothered about the many loose ends dangling about all over the place, give it a whirl.

You might even get a free pair of MIB shades (while stocks last) but, sadly, no neuralizer.

• For more information visit www.imdb.com/title/tt2283336