Griffin (Michael Stuhlbarg), a fifth dimensional alien, can see the infinite possibilities each moment possesses and the infinite contingencies that caused it to happen. Similar problems might have beset director Barry Sonnenfeld and the film's writers as they put together this pastiche. Like, you've already got a hidden universe of alien inhabitants below the surface of normality, why throw in time travel as well, especially when The Family Guy does it better? Fortunately, Josh Brolin as a younger version of K puts in an uncanny Tommy Lee Jones imitation, except when it lapses into George W. Bush. Back in 1969, young K had been murdered by an alien, resulting in a causal chain that ends with giant jellyfish destroying New York. So, before you can say "Austin Powers," Agent J (Will Smith) goes back in time to save not just his partner, but Earth as well. What almost saves the movie is its climactic twist, a nod to Sophocles, and one of the oldest tricks in the book.
