Heartwarming / Men in Black 3

• The Worms singing Amazing Grace, complete with bagpipe accompaniment, in their native tongue at Zed's memorial service. They might not have always gotten along, but the Worms did apparently care about Zed.
• As emotionally detached; blunt; uncaring and to-the-point as K's eulogy is for Zed, it's easy to indicate that while he's very clear about how the two only truly had a professional relationship, it still gives indication that it was a strong working relationship that he highly valued and respected for all that time that they worked together and to a degree, maybe even wishes it would've been deeper than that too—and was very straightforward in his speech as well for that specific reason too. As he says to J shortly after: "I meant every word." and the speech itself definitely reflects that wistful undertone upon further review:
  K: I worked with Zed for over forty years, and in all that time he never invited me to dinner. He never asked me to his house, or watch a game. He never shared a single detail of his personal life. [beat] Thank you.
• Jay being genuinely overjoyed when he finds Kay's past self, alive and well.
  • Although Kay kinda ruined the moment when he tased Jay.
• Young Kay dropping his cool professionalism to talk affectionately about how he met O, which makes Jay smile too.
• The Colonel's "He showed me how important you two are" becomes heartwarming once you learn that he's Jay's father. Also, since Griffin likely showed him his own death, that makes everything he does one big Heroic Sacrifice.
  "Your daddy is a hero."
• Griffin sharing his foresight with young Kay and Jay. He sees so many futures, probably a lot of deaths and worse things, and he barely gets a moment to enjoy any of the futures he sees.
• When O shows Jay, Kay and Griffin the jetpacks so they can reach Cape Canaveral as quickly as possible, Griffin gleefully runs up to them while laughing like a child seeing a new toy.
• The last scene with Kay and Jay at the Diner, where Jay thanks Kay for believing in him and Kay replies that it's been a privilege working with him.
  J: "I've realized that last night was a long, long time ago. And really I just want to say 'Thank you.'"
  K: "It's been my privilege."
  • J also makes it a point of putting his father's watch down on the counter so as to silently indicate to him that he knows without saying it, and that's more than enough for K to pick up on it.
  • And before all that, the scene with Past Kay on the elevator up to the rocket. "I can see why I recruited you. You're a good man."
• Seeing K singing "Empire State of Mind" happily, which shows that the old curmudgeon finally has a genuine happy moment in his life.
  • If you think about it, this moment is what the entire trilogy was building to. In the first movie, K longs to be reunited with the woman he loved before the MIB. However, when we reunite with K in Men in Black II, we see that K found this life so unfulfilling that his wife left him. That begs the question, if MIB is K's true home and calling, what is the true source of K's unhappiness. Then we get hints dropped throughout this movie. K says that letting Boris live was the worst mistake he ever made, O says that what happened at Cape Canaveral changed him, and when J travels back in time, K's younger self is much happier and full of life. Then the other shoe drops and we find out J's father sacrificed himself to save K from Boris. This means that, in the original timeline, K had to live with guilt of both Boris and himself being alive while J grew up without a father, something that not even all the help he has given J throughout his life has been able to make him feel better about. Then comes the new timeline and K kills Boris this time around, avenging J's father. Now K doesn't have to live with that guilt. It never festers and turns K cynical. K helps J join MIB not out guilt, but gratitude for his father. The thing that ruined K's life never happened. This is the first time we see K after this fix, and he is calm and at peace. K is finally free.
  • For that matter, the fact that this changed is signified by The Empire State of Mind. While New York City is sometimes viewed as a very difficult place to live, this song shows that, for many, it's a home that built them up and wouldn't trade for anything. K singing this must mean that, despite everything he goes through on a day-to-day basis, his heart is with New York.
• Jay taking a moment to salute some Black Panthers at Warhol's party, who salute him back.

---