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Review: Men In Black II

The first Men In Black came out of nowhere five years ago. Barry Sonnenfeld stole the box office that summer with the original, strange, hilarious, spoofy sci-fi comedy. Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones were the perfect pair for this inventive "who-are-the-aliens-in-our-midst" romp, playing secret agents working for a super-secret government agency keeping an eye on beings from outer space. It was perfect for the era of the still-vibrant X-Files. The sequel, inevitably, has lost some of the surprise. But it's still plenty of fun. Spoilage warning: plot discussed, not ending, not that it matters here.

The story line is almost irrelevant. Will Smith (Agent Jay) has to neuralize one dumb partner after another, and ends up with a smart-mouthed, sometimes hilarious pug for a partner. He pines for his former sidekick Tommy Lee Jones (Agent Kay), now neuralized and working for the institution with the greatest number of aliens, the U.S. Post Office. (The movie, like the first, gets off some great double entendres and inside jokes).

The movie opens with a campy Peter Graves spoof on the Ed Woods' style sci-fi movies of the 50's and 60's. Simply, Lara Flynn Boyle plays Serleena, the powerful alien queen ravaging earth to get her hands on a distant planet's light source. If she isn't stopped, the world will be destroyed, of course. Her prescence forces the MIB agency (headed by Sid, played by Rip Torn) to go and de-neuralize Kay, who comes back to re-join his buddy and save the world.

This is all beside the point, of course. The whole film is a device for Sonnenfeld's loopy rags on Martha Stewart (not perhaps as funny as it would have been a month ago) and Michael Jackson. There are hilarious locker room and worm aliens, and blessedly, the movie never takes itself seriously for a single second. Like the better parts of the Scream series, the movie ends up spoofing itself and the people who loved it.

If you go see it, all you need to know is that the surprise originality of the first is missing, mostly because we know what to expect, but the loopy and inventive spirit of MIB is very much alive.

CmdrTaco my 2 bits is that this movie was bland. It probably is my least favorite of the last half dozen movies I've seen. I loved the original, but this just doesn't have the punch of the first. Its got its moments, but the whole ride is weak. Watch Lilo & Stich instead ;)

19 of 429 comments (clear)

  1. Best line by xercist · · Score: 4, Funny

    "He's a Ballchinian!"

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    grep "xercist" /dev/random ...you'll find me in there someday
  2. ChubChubs!! by taeric · · Score: 4, Funny

    Say what you will for this movie. The short that preceded it was absolutely hilarious.

    I believe I laughed more for those few minutes then I have at many full length movies.

    I don't want to start too many spoilers on a root thread, so instead of listing the appearances, I'll just ask. Who all did people notice that they think may have been missed. I'll look for them next time. :)

  3. Lets review the kiddie toons by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    "why hasn't there been a slashdot review of Lilo and Stitch?"

    It's in the queue behind "Pokemon II", "The Care Bears Movie", and "The Land Before Time IV"

  4. This is odd... by Wrexen · · Score: 3, Funny

    Who are you, and what did you do with the real JonKatz?

  5. Theme song by Paraplegic+Vigilante · · Score: 4, Funny
    Does anyone else think that Will Smith MIB 2 theme song is really, really bad? Nod ya head? Anyone with me?

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    Is your workplace ADA compliant?

  6. Re:Lilo and Stitch all the way! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    I didn't know elementary schools issued degrees. Bachelor of Circles?

  7. Re:Lilo and Stitch all the way! by rirugrat · · Score: 2, Funny

    Funny story: I took my 7 year old daughter to the matinee showing of "Lilo and Stitch" on July 4th. After seeing sexy/violent trailers for "Matrix Reloaded" and "Die Another Day", I had a feeling that something was wrong. Then I see "Lucasfilm Ltd" and that familiar theme...yup, the theater was mistakenly showing "SW:AOTC".

    All of the other parents marched out of the theater with me to get the manager. Within 20 minutes we were watching the correct film (which was pretty good).

    I never thought I'd see the day where I would be very upset about seeing a Star Wars movie instead of a Disney one (and given 2 free movie tickets for being "inconvenienced" to boot)!

    Chris

  8. Re:Lilo and Stitch all the way! by macdaddy357 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Meesa thinking Stitch sound mooey mooey like Jar Jar. Meesa no liking that. Meesa telling George Lucas mooey mooey quick.

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    How ya like dat?
  9. Re:Hmm by great+throwdini · · Score: 3, Funny

    Of course the question is which one will /.ers puts more credence in?

    Az with eevry othr /. storie, hoovre speeled theres' th beste.

  10. Re:The boss's name by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    except the U.S., where, for some unkonwn reason, we call it zee

    Obviously this is because zed does not rhyme with A-B-C's, and it seriously messes up the alphabet song. Go ahead. Try it. It just doesn't work.

  11. Re:The boss's name by Frank+Grimes · · Score: 4, Funny
    That's zed as in the last letter of the alphabet in all English-speaking nations except the U.S.
    Wait, slow down. Are you saying that there are other nations, outside of the United States? I really don't buy that. And even if there were, how could thier language and culture be any different from ours?
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    CfkRAp1041vYQVbFY1aIwA== RV/hBCLKKcSTP5UFK3kqsg==
  12. Re:Missing the point of MIB by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny
    MIB movies are not really about the plot. They are about mind expansion.

    So are you suggesting that one must be under the influence of LSD to enjoy MIB movies?

  13. Re:The boss's name by Monkeyman334 · · Score: 2, Funny

    where, for some unkonwn reason, we call it zee

    I pronounce it zee because my preschool teacher told me to, I wasn't about to tell her she was wrong. Teachers were authority figures back then ya know.

  14. Lilo and Stich? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    I'd rather stay at home and watch Lilo and Grub. :)

  15. Re:The boss's name by jbayes · · Score: 2, Funny

    U SPELLIN': BAD

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    "It sure was strange to see something on Usenet about me that didn't involve Klingon gang rape." -- Wil Wheaton

  16. Re:More sequels? by CptNerd · · Score: 5, Funny

    Yeah, really, can you believe they made a sequel to "Fellowship of the Ring?"

    I mean, we've *seen* hobbits and elves and wizards, where are the *original* ideas?

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    By the taping of my glasses, something geeky this way passes
  17. Re:More sequels? by MeowMeow+Jones · · Score: 5, Funny

    Not to mention the fact that they shamelessly ripped the story off from a book.

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    Trolls throughout history:
    Jonathan Swift

  18. Re:The boss's name by Kraft · · Score: 5, Funny

    You need to study some geography.

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    -Kraft
    Live and let live
  19. I should have listened to the theme song by CleverNickName · · Score: 3, Funny

    Actually, the first warning sign that this was going to be a crappy movie (unheeded by me and my wife) is the Will Smith song. If a plot can be neatly summarized in a hip hop song, that should be a clear indicator to just stay away from the theatre.