In pop-culture terms, it has been forever since the Men in Black franchise's last installment.

在流行文化词条中，自上部《黑衣人》系列电影推出后，“黑衣人”三个字便成了永恒的经典。

And now, 10 years after the sequel and 15 after the original film, agents J (Will Smith) and K (Tommy Lee Jones) are back in black and ready to save the Earth, again.
15年前电影《黑衣人》诞生，5年之后《黑衣人》续集上映。而如今，探员K（威尔•史密斯饰）和J（汤米•李•琼斯饰）这个黑衣人组合又再次归来担当起拯救地球的使命。

To say that no one was clamoring for a Men in Black 3 (MIB 3) would be an understatement. The announcement of the franchise's third installment came with a sense of impending flop.
要说没有人期待看到一部《黑衣人3》这并不过分。《黑衣人3》开拍的消息一经公布，就伴随着一种即将失败的预感。

"With something like Men in Black, a sequel is actually more difficult than the original," Walter Parkes, who has produced all three of the films, told the Los Angeles Times.，
出任三部《黑衣人》系列影片制作人的沃尔特•F•帕克斯在接受《洛杉矶时报》采访时表示：“像《黑衣人》这样的电影，事实上续集要比第一部难拍得多”。

"The challenge is to be fresh and original but also deliver on the core values of the franchise."
“我们面临的挑战在于保持新颖与原创的同时，还要传递出《黑衣人》系列影片的核心价值观。”

Then, what's the magic of this franchise that makes Sony Pictures more than willing to approve a budget of millions even after a decade?
那么，这一系列电影又具备哪种魔力，使得索尼影业能在十年后仍然乐意花费百万预算来拍摄续集呢？

Star power
明星效应

"Before Smith starred the 1997 original film, he was this rapper-turned actor who impressed the audience with Independence Day. Everyone was wondering whether he was a one-hit wonder," The New York Times movie critic A.O. Scott wrote.
《纽约时报》影评人A.O.斯科特写道：“在出演1997年的《黑衣人》之前，史密斯是一位由嘻哈歌手转行来的演员，曾凭借《独立日》中的表演给观众留下了印象。所有人都在想他会不会只是昙花一现。”

Things are different now. The first Men in Black has achieved so much success that it made Smith an A-list star. And look at him now–a box-office guarantee.
如今时过境迁。《黑衣人1》取得了如此巨大的成功，史密斯也因此成为一线明星。现在他已经成为电影票房的保证。

Innocent and wacky
卖萌与古怪并存

Having achieved the hybrid creation of cutting-edge yet nostalgic aliens, the franchise succeeds in maintaining the innocent and wacky take on old Hollywood creatures.
《黑衣人》创造的外星人形象新潮前卫，却又带有以往影片中的怀旧风格。《黑衣人》成功地延续了传统好莱坞制造中那些卖萌与古怪的元素。

"Films about aliens usually end up being dark, violent and scary, but the Men in Black series goes a different way–light-hearted, comedic, and even a little bit cynical," Ben Fritz wrote in his review for the Los Angeles Times.
本•弗里茨在《洛杉矶时报》中评论道：“外星人电影往往都是以黑暗，暴力和惊悚为主题，但《黑衣人》系列却不走寻常路——轻松，幽默甚至有点玩世不恭。”

"Like Steven Spielberg's E.T., a warm, touching story about an alien."
“就像史蒂芬•斯皮尔伯格的《E.T》一样，讲述了一个温馨感人的外星人故事。” 。

Buddy movie
友谊万岁

At the core of Men in Black is the relationship between agents K and J. Somewhere between the aliens and space travel there's a story about two partners–a futuristic take on those timeless themes of friendship, loyalty and extraterrestrials.
《黑衣人》的核心便是探员K和J的友情。在外星人与太空旅行这两个主题之间，讲述了一对搭档的故事——运用科幻来诠释出友谊、忠诚和天外来客这些永恒的主题。

Funny and intelligent
风趣且睿智

And to judge by what's on screen, the filmmakers not only managed to overcome their strife, they have created one of the satisfying summer popcorn movies.
从画面场景来看，制作团队不仅设法克服了内部分歧，更是为暑期档打造了一部令人满意的爆米花电影。

It's a funny, intelligent film shot through with strong performances by Smith and Josh Brolin (who plays a younger version of agent K), and an emotional finale.
这是部风趣又睿智的电影，史密斯与乔什•布洛林（出演年轻版的探员K）极富张力的表演贯穿始终，结局十分感人。

"Yeah, there were some issues. And you've seen some media reports about overages and runaway production and no script. That was all true," Barry Sonnenfeld, director of all three of the Men in Black films, told AP.
《黑衣人》三部曲的导演巴里•索南菲尔德在接受美联社采访时表示：“是的，确实有些问题。人们可以看到，有媒体报道该片预算超标，制作过程失控，而且还没有剧本。这些都是真的”。

"Ultimately, the movie delivers. And the audience isn't going to care."
“最终，电影如期上映。而观众才不会在意这些呢。”