Men in Black II

2002 was the year of the sequel with the releases of “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets”, “Spy Kids 2”, “Stuart Little 2”, “Goldmember”, a Star Trek film, “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers” and “Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones” among a few others. Despite this kind of competition, "Men in Black II" did just fine at the box office but was not critically acclaimed like the first film. This sequel does lack some originality and conflict but the fun of the film is replicated well enough. The special effects however did not balance with the story of the film.

Because I was not as yet a "Seinfeld" fan when this movie came out, "Men in Black II" was my first time seeing Patrick Warburton in live action. I didn't even recognize his voice until the pie shop. Jay's problem with partners humorously mirrors that of a dating problem. I chuckle in that he takes his partners to the pie shop to dump them. The shot where Jay is exiting the subway station shows us that he is no longer a complete rookie in the organization but yet he is the same character we love. Even though he fully accepts the fact that his heroic acts will go unnoticed by the people of earth, he can't seem to find a partner like unto his retired mentor Kay. The ironic thing is that Jay wants at least one friend to help him save the world anonymously. My favorite line in the whole film is "It came with a black dude but he kept getting pulled over." Other great lines as performed by Will Smith include his sarcastic one of "No sit down." and "Save us Mr. black man." I also like how he says "Don't bend him." On another note, I enjoy Ben's alien voice and the line "Sorry you made the trip for nothing." Another great choice made for this sequel is that MIB headquarters looks even more like an airport terminal because of all the shops. For a time, we have a little bit of role reversal when Jay introduces Kay to the Men in Black. Kevin Brown is the name of a friend of mine that died when we were just kids so that part of the movie is a little weird for me. Tommy Lee Jones' acting before he gets his memory back is pretty good. He behaves quite randomly and geeky. When Kay gets his memory back, he is back to business almost as if nothing has happened and that is awesome. I like the gag that the home-built deneuralyzer doesn't have the latest software. I also love how Jay shoots Jeebs because we didn't expect it. He does it without moving his gun all that much and then he points it at the bad guys. An example of great physical acting from Jones is when Kay ducks from Laura's attack. It is so fast that he didn't even see what she was attacking with. I love how in trying to figure out the clue in the pizza shop, Jay's head hits the key on the wall. It is very ironic the second time you see the movie. I love the locker aliens, mostly because of their reprise at the end of the movie and their singing. Their collective expression of "Oh merciful one" is also pretty funny. As the movie progresses, we understand that Jay did not neuralyze Laura because he has feelings for her. I thought it was due to story purposes myself the first time I saw the movie. The best gag in the whole film is when Newton picks up the shovel and calls for his mom. Another great joke in Newton's place is "Looks like Spielberg's work." This mirrors Spielberg's cameo in the first film. Jay still has fun with erasing people's memories by helping improve people's lives and that is another great callback from the original movie. Some cameos in this second film include Martha Stewart and Oscar winning makeup artist Rick Baker. Michael Jackson is my favorite cameo. His reprise by way of the phone call was a really funny gag also. Director Barry Sonnenfeld has his cameo in the apartment with the secret weapon room. I like how the paintings on the wall are still hanging after the wall has been raised. Another great moment of Will's is during the final seconds of the countdown of the launch of the ship that Laura is on. Will is struggling comically to get to her and thus we get great suspense that is balanced with comedy. I really love how a Playstation controller in flies the car. This leads to another great gag when Jay and Kay switch seats in the car. Just like the first film, the climax of "Men in Black II" was changed but this time because of world events. The climax was supposed to take place on top of the World Trade Center but due to September 11th, the scene had to be re-filmed. In the diminuendo of the show, I love how Jay doesn't not want to hear Zed's relationship story above all else.

"Men in Black II" allows us to see some great characters once again like Frank, Jeebs and the worms. David Cross is back as well but for obvious reasons, he plays a different character. "Black Suits Comin' (Nod Ya Head)" by Will Smith during the end credits is fun. However, I dislike the plot point that Kay's wife left him. That was a touching part of the first film. This movie has its moments but the pure fun of the original movie is slightly lacking. Because the third film was made 10 years after this one, the level of originality of "Men in Black III" was all but gone.

3.5 Stars