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.

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.

Let me just start by saying that I normally like movies with Tommy Lee Jones and / or Will Smith in them. They certainly don't belong to the enormous group of average and unnoticeable actors, but have some kind of style and presence that I really can appreciate. But I'm afraid that's about the best thing I can say about them right now, because what they did in this movie was nothing but a hasty 'grab-as-much-money-as-you-can' job and I really don't like to see that.

"Men in Black II" starts four years later from where the first one ended. Kay has given up life as an agent and has returned to civilian life, working in a postal office, while Jay has continued to work for the 'Men in Black'. While investigating what seems to be a routine crime, Jay uncovers a diabolical plot masterminded by Serleena, an evil Kylothian monster who disguises herself as a sexy lingerie model. With their headquarters under siege and time running out, Jay must convince Kay, who no longer remembers anything of his time with the MIB, to rejoin the agency so they can save the Earth from being destroyed completely.

I admit that some of the special effects were nice to watch, but even that didn't always convince me. Some of the aliens were small masterpieces, others however seemed like a hasty job, unfinished by the people of the computer graphics department. The only possible explanation for that might be that they wanted to save enough money so the profit rate would be even larger. And the computer animations weren't the only one to suffer from that problem. The script writers didn't come up with any new things either. All they did was to repeat what worked in the first movie. It even seems like they didn't have the time to come up with a new and decent plot.

And yet not everything was that bad. The humor for instance worked, not always perfectly but it worked. Jokes like "It came with a black dude, but it kept being pulled over" when they talk about the automatic pilot in the Mercedes were funny. I even liked that dog singing on the front seat of the car, but overall it just wasn't enough to save the entire movie. No, if you are looking for a spectacular new movie that is full of great acting, a great story and some excellent computer animations, than you'll be very disappointed by this one. It just seems like they threw it together in a couple of weeks and that's why I can only give it a 6/10.

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.

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.