Men In Black II (2002)

Barry Sonnenfeld's "Men In Black II" is an example of a sequel that might have been better had the original never been made. It tells a glaringly similar story, wherein the only big difference is the way the aliens look. There are some good laughs, but it seems like the main reason for the film's production was to make a killing at the box office, which it already has. Of course, I've now contributed to that great plethora of money, considering that I'm not a professional film critic, and therefore I have to pay to see films in current theatrical release. This is why you don't see many new releases on my site. That is, if anybody visits this site.

But back to the movie in question. Of course, "Men In Black II" stars Will Smith as Jay, the secret agent from the secret organization that monitors extraterrestrial activity. Since the neuralization of Jay's partner Kay (Tommy Lee Jones) at the end of the first movie, he has developed a habit of disposing of new partners. But since an alien named Serleena--who has the ability to morph into the physical state of an underwear model who looks an awful lot like Lara Flynn Boyle--has come to Earth to find some kind of light which will help her destroy our planet, Jay desperately needs the help of Kay, who had something to do with this situation back in 1978 which makes Serleena believe that he is the one who has the light. Jay must deneuralize Kay immediately. He finds him working in a post office somewhere in Massachusetts. Jay uses the fact that everyone else working in the post office is an alien to persuade Kay to take a ride with him to get deneuralized.

This situation inspires some new, more human-looking aliens, including one who basically just looks like the well-known human Johnny Knoxville (of MTV's "Jackass" fame), except with a smaller version of the same head attached to the back of his neck by something resembling an umbilical cord. We also encounter the human character of Laura (Rosario Dawson), a pizza shop employee whose boss was believed to have something to do with this whole alien plot. Of course, Jay develops a crush on Laura, though the two don't have much screen chemistry, or, for that matter, much of anything interesting to say to each other.

The main characters in "MIBII" don't do a whole lot for us in the laugh department. Tommy Lee Jones has some good lines, but Smith overdoes the slapstick here, turning his scenes into those of cartoonish childishness rather than of genuine comedy. In all honesty, the funniest characters are those who aren't even human. There are the worms, a collection of gold-colored, talking invertebrates whose actual presence is a mystery, but a forgivable one considering that they are funnier than any of the human characters. There is also Frank, the talking dog, who is ironically more of a loudmouth than anyone else in the cast. Frank is funny here, and should have been given more screen time than he was allotted.

In the end, we have a terribly awkward climactic scene. I won't say what actually happens, just that it is a big, confused mess. At this particular point, the script doesn't know whether it wants to be funny or sentimental, and makes its biggest mistake of all by trying to be both at the same time.

There is a sense by the end of the film that the film could have done more with the material at hand than it did. Its running time is a slim 88 minutes, during which time it goes faster than it has to in order to reach its climax, at which point there is, as I said, an unsatisfying payoff. I wish more screen time would have been given to the non-human characters at the FBI. As characters in the film, they're much more interesting than Smith or Dawson or Boyle. I also think that there could have been more jokes, especially involving the two-headed Johnny Knoxville character and Kay's job at the post office.

Sonenfeld's original "Men in Black" from 1997 was just that: original. It was a new thought. Now with its sequel, we have just another plot to save the world, except this time we get to look at Lara Flynn Boyle in a revealing wardrobe. I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy "MIBII," but I can't shake the feeling that there's no need for it. It's funny, but not quite as funny as its predecessor. The original thought is gone, and it seems like there's not quite enough here to make up for it.

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