Will Smith was once the king of the summer box office. "Men in Black 2," released in 2002, began a string of inconsistent projects that started to drain his blockbuster appeal. It was a lazy cash-grab and an empty shell of the clever 1997 original.

Ten years later we have "Men in Black 3," a movie troubled with production delays, numerous rewrites and a bloated budget. Smith hasn't appeared in a movie since "Seven Pounds" in 2008, and the trailer suggests a movie far too light on surly co-star Tommy Lee Jones.

Considering all this, "Men in Black 3" is far better than it has any right to be.

Secret Agents J (Smith) and K (Jones) continue to protect the Earth from the alien scum of the universe, except Agent K seems more prickly and secretive than ever before. It's all because alien terrorist Boris the Animal ("Flight of the Conchords" star Jemaine Clement) has escaped the moon vowing to go back in time to kill Agent K, who shot the Animal's arm off back in 1969.

K suddenly disappears from the timeline, so Agent J travels back in time to stop Boris' assassination attempt.

Once "Men in Black 3" goes to the '60s, Smith has a lot of fun reacting to the retro culture. The film gets even better once Josh Brolin appears as a young Agent K, a man with prickly tendencies but a sunnier outlook on life than the older model.

Brolin is the MVP of "Men in Black 3," going far beyond an impression of Jones' vocal ticks and provides genuine depth to the character. Agent K was always a strong comedic foil to Smith's antics, but Brolin's K gives the movie a true emotional investment.

Advertised as a sci-fi comedy, "Men in Black 3" has a stronger dramatic current than previous installments, especially in how the time travel storyline reaches climax and the source of K's moodiness becomes more apparent. There's also a soulful performance by Michael Stuhbarg ("A Serious Man") as an alien who can view multiple possible futures and timelines.

The humor in the film is decidedly hit-and-miss. Smith has to carry the bulk of the load again, though his one-liners have a better hit ratio here than in "Men in Black 2." The best sequence involves J and young K visiting a party attended by Andy Warhol, played to hilarious perfection by "Saturday Night Live" star Bill Hader.

Don't think too hard about the time travel logic. There's a baffling sequence near the end involving Boris and Agent J that makes no sense whatsoever. I'm guessing if I think harder about the other time travel elements, very little of it equates coherent storytelling.

Maybe it's the diminished expectations, but the problems with "Men in Black 3" don't hinder what is ultimately a fast and engaging piece of summer entertainment. I wouldn't give back Will Smith's blockbuster crown just yet, but this should be considered genuine progress.

Grade: B

Ticket Stubs is sponsored by the Hayden Cinema Six Theater. Showtimes at www.HaydenCinema6.com. Tyler Wilson can be reached at [email protected]. Read more reviews at www.NormdogEntertainment.com.