Men in Black II

This movie is the sequel of course to the hit movie "Men In Black". I gave this movie a six, but I felt like being generous (I probably should give it a five). This movie is short. I mean really, really short. There is a short that preceded the movie so that tells you how short this movie is (the short got more laughs than the movie I think). I went to this movie knowing how short it was, but it just went by so fast and the movie was a bit unmemorable that it was a waste of time to drive to the theater. There was no time for character development or much story development. In fact, the opening credit scene itself took four or five minutes. The story has Smith's character trying to get the memory back of Jones character to battle an alien threat. For the most part there isn't much that is funny in this one, but there are a few scenes to make a person chuckle. Then there is the pug dog. I think it had the same screen time as Tommy Lee Jones. It was funny in small doses, but its role was expanded way too much for the sequel. Johnny Knoxville's character was lame as was the main villain, which had looks but no funny dialogue at all. Tony Shaloub is back, and once again his character's role is small and underused. So all in all this is an inferior sequel by all means with just enough to look at to keep you from getting bored. If they ever make a part three, please let them get a director who is capable of making a movie.

Men in Black II (2002)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

Boring and bland sequel has Earth coming under attack from a dangerous alien (Lara Flynn Boyle) so Agent Jay (Will Smith) must bring Agent Kay (Tommy Lee Jones) out of retirement. I really wasn't sure what to expect out of this sequel but the very, very, very last thing I did expect was something boring. I must admit that I was really shocked to see how bland and downright bad this movie was as sadly it's yet another example of a sequel to a good movie being about nothing more than money. The original film was smart, clever and funny in regards to the subject matter but this sequel just lacks any sort of originality and it's really nothing more than a copy of the original. What's so sad is that there could have been so many good and interesting story ideas but sadly we're just given a copy of the first film and we even get many of the same jokes. It's funny to think that the jokes worked so well the first time but here they're just annoying and unfunny. I think the majority of the blame has to go towards the screenplay, which is just a mess. It's never funny, never makes too much sense and sadly it's clear that very little went into it. The performances outside of Tommy Lee Jones really aren't all that memorable either. Lara Flynn Boyle has no problems looking sexy but her character is bland. Rip Torn isn't given much to do and the same is true for Johnny Knoxville and Rosario Dawson. The incredibly bad love story with Dawson is just an embarrassment. MEN IN BLACK II even features some very poor CGI effects and in the end this is just a rather worthless movie that isn't worth the trouble.

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.

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.

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.