Subject: Review: Men in Black 2 (2002)

From: Robin Clifford <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 03 Jul 2002 18:45:14 -0000

"Men In Black II"

"Same planet. New scum." This is the war cry for the long-awaited sequel
to the 1997 hit flick about our world and the aliens from outer space
that secretly populate the earth. Agent Jay (Will Smith) is now the head
honcho of the cops keeping order among the alien population, but a
powerful newcomer, Serleena (Lara Flynn Boyle), has come to Earth to
wreak havoc. Jay has to bring his old partner, Kay (Tommy Lee Jones),
out of retirement to put a stop to the menace in "Men In Black II."

Return helmer Barry Sonnenfeld and his MIB stars Smith and Jones have
bellied up to the bar again in anticipation of recreating the success of
the their original venture which took in over $500 million at the box
office worldwide  a few years ago. The aim, I suspect this time around,
is to beat that B.O. figure and make everyone involved rich. Too bad the
filmmakers forgot to provide a movie even remotely close to the first.
Where "MIB" intro'd a new, alien-enriched world with lots of humor, both
tongue-in-cheek and slapstick, action and effects, the remake gives us
retread F/X and little of the original film's humor.

Will Smith looks the least comfortable here than in any role he has had,
and he has had some biggies. Agent Jay is the top dog, so to speak, in
the MIB field operations and, like his predecessor Kay, has had to bear
the onerous burden of policing the wild and wacky immigration world of
intergalactic aliens. Jay is a cynic, now, and has lost the humor and
smartass sassiness that so endeared him to everyone in the '97 flick.
Now, Smith is required to mouth lines similar to "What is a dead
Cerulean swamp dingy doing in the immigration lounge?!" Dialogue like
this does not roll off the tongue and much of the time the actors are
just mouthing their silly lines.

Tommy Lee Jones is so deadpan as the returned Kay that you'd think he
wished he stayed in retirement as US Postmaster Kevin. He is able to pay
lip service to the shoddy dialogue on the strength of his ability to
deliver it with authority. Lara Flynn Boyle is awash amidst a sea of
special F/X as the multi-tentacle alien bad guy, Serleena, in search of
the key to omnipotent power - a maguffin called "The Light of Zartha
(sic)". Her "human" persona is supposed to be a Victoria Secrets
catalogue model, evinced by her scanty black underwear, but the actress
is given nothing to do. Tony Shalhoub reprises his role as alien
pawnbroker, Jeebs, who has his head blown off again, not once, but
twice. (It was far funnier in the first "MIB.") Johnny Knoxville as
Serleena's two-headed henchman, Scrad/Charlie, is hamstrung by the
material - a good idea wasted.

The screenplay by Robert Gordon and Barry Fanaro is a manufactured
rather than crafted story that reverses the ideas put forth in the first
film. Remember when Kay decided he had enough of MIB and opted to be
neuralized, wiping out all his memory of his super secret agency? Well,
the scribes find a loophole - in the deep recesses of the former agent's
mind lay the hidden memories of his past as an MIB and only needs to be
releases by the application of the de-neuralizer. Very convenient but I
can live with it. Unfortunately, there is little that is funny in
"MIIB," with only a couple of exceptions.

To give the filmmakers their due, the expanded presence of Frank the Pug
(voice of Tim Blaney), the talkative doggy MIB, and the Worm Guys (they
used to make the coffee) provide the film's six  laughs (I counted).
It's pretty sad when a supporting character, and a dog to boot, is the
best thing in the movie. Listen closely to Frank's lyrics to "I Shall
Survive." They're worth the effort. It's too bad that the human
characters don't fare as well.

The makeup and special F/X are slick but unimaginative. Goofy looking
aliens abound but they are not any more creative than the beasties in
the bar scene in the original "Star Wars." CGI stuff, like Frank's motor
mouth, is done convincingly and well. Production design, by Bo Welch,
does try to inject some character into the sets, especially the bachelor
pad of the Worm Guys that is very groovy and retro and the place where
girl can find out if it's true that "once you know worm, it's what
you'll yearn."

I came out of "Men In Black II" feeling like I had been had. The makers
have forsaken the entertaining elements of the original and, instead,
rehash old jokes and leave any life at the doorstep. I like Frank the
Pug, though. I give it a C-.

For more Reeling reviews visit www.reelingreviews.com

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X-RT-RatingText: C-