Men in Black II Review
by Brendan Cullin (brendan AT empiremovies DOT com)July 3rd, 2002
MEN IN BLACK II
RATING 5.5/10
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Do not go into Men In Black II expecting an earth-shattering episode of the Men In Black series. This movie is almost the same movie as the original. There are, however, a few minor differences. Brace yourself for this... It is not nearly as funny. It is not nearly as original. And it is not nearly as entertaining. And what you get when you add up these three factors is a colossal disappointment.
Now before you go running out to see the Powerpuff Girls instead this weekend, there are a few things that must be made clear. Men In Black II will be entertaining for some. I think it is a good movie for the kids and the very big fans of the first movie. But for some of the more sophisticated movie fans (yeah, whatever) this movie just does not cut it. I draw your attention to the Austin Powers series. The second Austin Powers installment was able to add great new characters and to many, is considered a better, funnier and more entertaining movie than the original. This is not the case with Men In Black.
The new villain, played by Lara Flynn Boyle, looked great in lingerie but that's about it. Johnny Knoxville's two-headed alien mysteriously disappeared towards the end of the movie. And Will Smith (Agent J) and Tommy Lee Jones (Agent K) were not nearly as good as they were in Men In Black. Smith's one-liners were lame and Jones seemed very uninterested in his role. Furthermore, the chemistry the two of them had in the original movie was not there for this one. The only person that seemed genuinely interested in her role was Rosario Dawson, who played Agent J's love interest and the sort of damsel in distress. I do have to admit that the talking dog was better used this time around and probably the best thing in his limited role in this movie. Agent J's worm buddies were also sort of funny, although at times, I had difficulty understanding what they were saying. Oh, and Michael Jackson's much talked about cameo was brief, unexpected and not nearly as bad as I thought it would be.
Overall, the one problem with Men In Black II was that I just did not feel as entertained as I thought I should have been after seeing this movie. In this day and age of big-name actors, big budgets and big expectations, feeling mildly satisfied after a movie just isn't good enough. There will be some who will enjoy Men In Black 2. Don't get me wrong. It does have its moments, but in the end, I have to rate MIB2 as a mild disappointment. The magic of Men In Black disappeared and judging from the end of the movie, there is no indication that it will reappear in a third installment.
Review Date: July 1, 2002
Author: Brendan Cullin
Official Site: http://www.meninblack.com
Director: Barry Sonnenfeld
Distributed by: Columbia Pictures
Theatrical Release Date: July 3, 2002
Cast: Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, Lara Flynn Boyle, Johnny Knoxville, Michael Jackson
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Copyright © 2000-2002 Liam Cullin
Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
