Review of Men in Black II (2002) by Christopher A — 24 May 2012

Men in Black brought us a great mix of both sci-fi action and comedy thanks to the duo of Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones. Since the movie was such a huge hit, a sequel was planned. Although the two do return, the movie itself may not suit well with most fans of the original.

The movie starts with a commentary of an alien race known as the Zarthans asking the MiB to protect the "Light of Zartha," their greatest treasure, from Serleena. If put in the wrong hands, it could cause untold destruction. Although Serleena comes to the planet, the MiB manage to stop her so that the Zarthans could escape with their treasure, but they didn't kill her (which was pretty dumb of them, just kill her and the threat's gone).

Five years later, Serleena (Lara Flynn Boyle) returns to Earth and takes the form of a model in a magazine. Meanwhile, Agent J (Will Smith) finds himself getting incompetent partners and always having to neuralyzing them ever since Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) had retired and lost his memories. But when Serleena becomes a threat, Agent J goes to find K, now being known as Kevin Brown, to help him restore his memories of the MiB, as he is the only MiB alive who knew about the case. But Serleena eventually invades the headquarters, and it's up to the two to stop her.

The movie is a large misstep from the original. There aren't that many interesting characters, the special effects are weaker than those in the first movie, the villain is not very imposing, and there just isn't much of a story to it. Agent K trying to get his memories back was a good plot for a sequel, but it's not the way it should have been. Some of the action was at least mildly entertaining, but nowhere near as good as those in the original. Also at the end of the first movie, Agent J got the woman from the movie as his new partner known as Agent L, but in this, she has retired and we are not shown anything of them being a team. So what was the point of having her becoming his new partner at the end of the movie and then not being a main character in this one?

As for the acting, with the exception of Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones duo, there isn't much to like. Frank the dog, who had a cameo in the first movie, has a larger role in this one. While his cameo in the first was fun, here, he is just irritating and annoying. Lara Flynn Boyle as the villain is lifeless. Rosario Dawson is a poor replacement for the female character. The rest of the cast I could care less. Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones are the only things that keep the movie a little bit together.

An insult to the original film was.