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 ;)

Comments

Props to Katz!

[st0rmshad0w]

Glad to see he made it all the way thru that without a single 9/11 reference, but I think I still need to go with Taco on this one, it was pretty weak compared to the original.

Re:Lilo and Stitch all the way!

[hendridm]

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

Because a lot of us are adults and/or prefer adult-oriented humor (not porn, but some post-grade school wit is always appreciated).

delayed lucidity

[jafac]

I've noticed an odd effect, roughly for the past two or three years, prior to watching a movie, I've been a little exited by the hype, then while watching the movie, I'm usually really digging it. Then, anywhere from a couple of hours to maybe a day later, I'm thinking about it and going, "man, that movie actually kinda sucked".

I mean, Episode I, despite Jar Jar, I was really exited and into it, because my 6 year old son was. But later, thinking about it, I couldn't find any really redeeming qualities to it except maybe a little satisfaction at knowing some of the earlier history of Star Wars.
Same with Episode II. Damn, nearly every movie I've seen in the theaters for the past 2-3 years, except maybe Being John Malkovich.

That said; having seen MIIB yesterday - it sucked. It sucked really bad. I want my money back. I want my two hours back. Seems the only way Will Smith can get people to listen to his RAP anymore is to get in a movie and virally infect the soundtrack with it. The ONLY worthwhile bit was when he says his car originally had a black driver, but he kept getting pulled over. And I saw that in the trailer.

And I'm not going to see Minority Report, because I'm boycotting the Church of Scientology.

Depressingly, the next movie I'm looking forward to is LOTR II. At least I got to see the trailer. But even more, I'm looking forward to LOTR I's DVD with the extra hour of footage.
Fuck this. Movies suck, work sucks, I'm the only person in the office - screw it I'm going to the beach.

Re:Lilo and Stitch all the way!

[Megumi_Slashbot]

I don't know if that's a troll or a genuine anonymouscoward pickup line! if it's a troll... that's not a real troll. THIS is a REAL troll. You knows the rest! Megumi!

Life in the Marketing Dept.

[etp]

Though I have not yet seen this excuse for a movie, I cannot imagine this is a real review. How much of the marketing budget did Columbia Pictures use up to pay you? Not much I think.

Re:Lilo and Stitch all the way!

[daviddennis]

How is she going to know which AC to contact upon her return to Japan?

This provoked my curiosity; nice picture indeed. But how do I know this is a correct picture of the poseter? After all, she admits she's a troll.

Are trolls not legendary for posting bogus pictures of themselves?

D