Men in Black 2

3 July 2002. Men In Black II is one of the truly unique films in that it is both better and worse than the original. I admire the risks taken to make this movie more interesting but at the same time it bombs in some of its overly cute lines and plot-ploys. I laughed heartedly in spots, more than I have in a while, but that other times, I could only shake my head at how dumb and flat some of the one-line moments were. One fascinating directing, script technique that is rarely seen in a comedy is the use of silence, the prolonged pause and the use of facial expressions, and the moment to carry the scene. This approach usually worked in this movie, which I think is saying a lot because it is extremely difficult to pull off successfully most of the time and it takes good acting and directing to do it. There was more tender moments in this movie than the original - better serious, moments. Both actors were great in their acting, acting in the difficult parts where body and facial expression counted more than dialogue. There were times that Wil Smith never completed his lines, but with great success. I would have to say overall, Men In Black II wasn't a great movie, but it was entertaining, interesting, took risks, and broke new comedic ground in bringing back real comedy and one-liners that sometimes died, but just as well, were brilliant. A great worthwhile attempt. A must for home video or should I say DVD now.

My Take: Not as wildly enjoyable as the first, but makes a terrific sequel.

Summer movie sequels are usually the victims of the "sequelness". Most sequels to big blockbuster hits tend to simply repeat the success of the first film, and simply recycle the formula of its predecessor. MEN IN BLACK II (or simply MIIB) is no exception. It practically repeats the formula of the first film: Aliens are out again, J (Will Smith) and K (Tommy Lee Jones) are back as partners to fight against it and the whole lot. The formula is copied, but the same cannot be said about the rest of the film. There are new rabbits in this same bag of tricks. Although most innovations are of special effects, MIIB provides some new fun moments in a somewhat formula approach.

Like said, MIIB returns Smith and Jones as the dynamic duo out to stop an alien, a creature called the Kylothian, who takes the form of a lingerie model (Lara Flynn Boyle), who, guess what? Trying to take over the world. of course. This is nothing new in comparison. It's mostly just a retread of the previous film. But few of these "been there, done that" sequels are fun in a different way. This one is, and it's actually surprisingly entertaining. The new script by Robert Gordon and Barry Fanaro contains a number of effective puns which elevates the humor from other formula sequels.

Of course, there are new and colorful special effects from mostly the same crew of the original film. The effects by effects house Industrial Light & Magic and make-up artist Rick Baker are still outlandish and imaginative. They still give us a host of aliens and creatures that we can feast our eyes upon. Not much imagination went to the storyline and characters, but a lot was certainly invested upon the effects and visuals. Kudos for director Barry Sonnenfeld, production designer Bo Welch and much of the special effects crew for providing a colorful atmosphere that bursts with liveliness in an otherwise formulaic episode of summer sequel season. It's the same old thing, but with new fun.

Rating: ***1/2 out of 5.

`Originality,' is, almost by definition, a one-time thing. In 1997, the original `Men in Black' struck a nerve with movie audiences by showing that even a big budget blockbuster, heavily loaded down with state-of-the-art, computer-generated special effects, could still manage to seem light on its feet. The makers of that film pulled off this feat of gravitational legerdemain by coming up with a concept and a script overflowing with creativity, wit, imagination and a cachet of `hipness' to go along with its tone of anarchic playfulness.

Well, five years have passed and we now have `Men in Black II' to confirm what most of us suspected all along: that works that rely on `uniqueness' as their prime selling point are rarely ever able to duplicate their success a second time around. Five years can be a lifetime in pop culture and what seemed `cool' one summer can appear decidedly `old hat' the next. Without that aura of cutting edge newness that defined the original, `Men in Black II' seems like just another loud, over-the-top summertime blockbuster.

Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones are back playing Jay and Kay, agents for the government's top secret organization whose job it is to monitor the activities of the thousands of aliens who have secretly infiltrated earth's societies and to help protect the planet from any possible threat from interstellar space. Smith and Jones still appear to be quite comfortable in their roles and they are aided by Lara Flynn Boyle, as Serleena, the baddest alien this side of Darth Vader, and Rip Torn, delightful as Zed, the slightly cracked head of the Men in Black agency.

Although the special effects in this film are, as one would expect in this day and age, astonishing and virtually seamless, the same can definitely NOT be said for the film's screenplay. The story moves along at a fairly fast clip, but it rarely makes us laugh. In fact, the script comes across as undisciplined nonsense, lacking both logic and coherence. Unlike in the earlier film, we get the sense that literally everything here has been placed at the service of the special effects. There's an awful lot of running and bouncing around but rarely to any point or purpose. Indeed, we end up feeling at the end somehow more exhausted and drained than exhilarated and euphoric. It would appear that director Barry Sonnenfeld thought that if he could just keep the thing MOVING we wouldn't notice that he had nothing new to offer in this retread. It doesn't work. In fact, if `Men in Black II' shows us anything, it is that just because something MOVES doesn't mean that it can't bore us at the same time.

Tommy Lee Jones & Will Smith give great performances, but it is not enough to grasp the attention of its audience as it fails to garner the touch from its predecessor. Men in Black II lacks the originality and goes excessively in too deep on its already familiar settlement.

Sequels are tough, but I honestly feel like MIIB pulls this off exceedingly well. It's not quite as good as the original but it still falls into that sweet spot of dark comedy, off-beat delivery and well acted performances. Smith and Jones are still spot on, the addition of Knoxville was very fun for me, Dawson adds a bit more warmth to the romantic interest than the dry wit of our mortician in the previous film and Boyle's portrayal of Serleena falls perfectly into the realm of weird but working that MIB is so good at.

The only reason I rate this one slightly lower than the original is because it doesn't quite hit me as hard as the first, doesn't resonate quite as much. There's nothing wrong, its just not quite at the same level of greatness.