This weekend saw two new movies in theaters that were continuations of franchises. Men in Black: International is the fourth film in the MIB series and Shaft is the second “modern” movie in the series, but the fifth overall (three of which are titled Shaft). The issue with having an actual franchise of movies – especially ones that are exactly direct sequels – is how to keep them relevant and interesting for audiences as time goes by.

The MIB franchise kicked off in 1997 with the original film starring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones. It was a pretty big hit, partly because it was different – mixing action and comedy was nothing new, but it had been a while since there was a genuinely fun action/comedy/sci-fi film. Not surprisingly, the sequel wasn’t as good, nor was the third installment. And that’s pretty much where the latest one falls. The story in MIB: International is different enough to keep things interesting, but a lot of the humor falls flat and the aliens just don’t seem as fun as they used to. There’s decent chemistry between the leads (and, thankfully, no romantic relationship), which does provide some potential for a sequel. And, in welcome nods to equality, the name of the organization is addressed and female agents aren’t left to wait on male agents to save the day. Overall, it’s not a bad film, but it’s nothing special.

With Shaft we go all the way back to 1971 for the start of the series. This was the height of “blacksploitation” movies and the original was a big hit. Even the sequels got some good play. And then there was a bit of a reboot/reintroduction in 2000 when Sam Jackson took over the lead role. The new Shaft builds from that movie without being a direct sequel (it’s almost 20 years later and uses the same title after all). The new installments don’t take themselves quite as seriously as the originals, which is a good thing. Though still street level action mysteries, they lean a little more to the Lethal Weapon style of interactions – lots of smart ass comments and one liners. But the main issue with Shaft as a character is that his attitudes haven’t evolved much since the 70s and there are things that are downright cringe-inducing at times. A fun movie, but the language and sensibilities may not be for everyone.