Subject: Review: Men in Black 2 (2002)

From: Christopher Null <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 03 Jul 2002 18:42:15 -0000

MEN IN BLACK II

A film review by Christopher Null

Copyright 2002 filmcritic.com

In an interview, director Barry Sonnenfeld told me about four years ago that he
didn't want to make another Men in Black.  The studio wanted it, he said, but he
just wasn't interested.  What a difference Wild Wild West and Big Trouble will
make to your choice of film projects!

And so Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones return to their black suits in one of the
most uninspired sequels in recent memory, going through the motions while
spouting one-liners en route to encounters with familiar characters at the
familiar locations which made the original Men in Black so endearing.

The conceit of this 88-minute, blink-and-ya-missed-it affair is that Jones'
retired Agent K is needed once again to save the planet from some encroaching
threat that will destroy the entire earth within the next few days. 
Unfortunately, K's memory (which holds the key to saving the planet from said
threat) was erased at the end of the last movie by his old partner Agent J
(Smith).  The first third of the film sets up the threat (in the form of a
panty-clad Lara Flynn Boyle -- excellent casting, there -- in disguise as an
enormous worm-type alien thingy).  The next third involves the quest to get K's
memory back.  The final act, of course, pits our heroes against the alien as
they bring out their crazy plastic guns and take an amount of brutal physical
punishment that would make Arnold Schwarzenegger wet himself.  It really feels
like a cartoon… if only it weren't for the actual humans appearing in the
movie….

While Sonnenfeld musters the energy to get to the obligatory Men in Black theme
of alienation among one's own kind, the film never becomes as endearing as its
predecessor.  The talking dog just isn't as funny when he's humping a giant
alien's tentacle.  Tony Shalhoub's Jeebs isn't as much fun now that we know his
head grows back.  And while some of the casting is inspired -- including David
Cross as the perfect video store geek and cameos by would-be aliens Michael
Jackson and Martha Stewart (uncanny in its timing!) -- some of it is
oh-so-obvious in its pandering to the MTV generation.  Johnny Knoxville?  I
haven't seen a supporting role this blatant and pathetic since Tom Green
appeared in Charlie's Angels.  (Though, in fact, Knoxville is a far, far worse
actor.)

The rest of the movie is harmless, forgettable, and simply uninteresting in
comparison to recent action flicks like Spider-Man and Minority Report (yes, you
can have your sci-fi and your mind food, too).  The special effects are nothing
new and are rarely even credible.  The script is as subtle as Kung Pow (potshots
at postal workers?  Puh-leeze…).  And even the cute ending is spoiled by what
comes after: Will Smith's atrocious "Nod Your Head" musical number as yet
another movie-inspired anthem for our youth.  How lazy are today's kids, that
nodding your head actually passes for a dance move, anyway?  Elvis, where are
you?

RATING: ***

[* = lowest rating / ***** = highest rating]

MPAA Rating: PG-13

Director: Barry Sonnenfeld

Producer: Laurie MacDonald, Walter F. Parkes

Writer: Robert Gordon, Barry Fanaro

Starring: Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith, Rip Torn, Rosario Dawson, Patrick
Warburton, Lara Flynn Boyle, Tony Shalhoub, Johnny Knoxville

http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/meninblack/

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filmcritic.com / http://filmcritic.com/

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X-RT-RatingText: 3/5