Men In Black II [VHS] [2002]

Or perhaps 'rushed' is a better word. Compared to the tight scripting of the original, the screenplay is messy and hole-ridden, with the old gambit of bit part players brought back from the original on the assumption that they will get bigger laughs this time round (i.e. the talking dog). Will Smith seems uncomfortable in the 'straight' role this time, and the female lead adds very little value (to be fair this is the fault of the script). Tommy Lee Jones does his job well, but seems to be on autopilot (to be fair the tight dialogue of the first film is all but gone here). As the villain of the piece Lara Flynn Boyle is very nice to look at (kudos to Jack Nicholson!) - cf. the completely gratuitous underwear scene at the beginning - but is ultimately forgettable.

Most strangely, the effects could have used more work : - Rick Baker does a great job with the puppets as always, but the CGI is sometimes a little poor compared to todays standards. The two-headed character, the tentacles, and the worm all could have been better.

Given the huge arena in which to play set up by the first film, and the talent attached to the project, this could have been so much more.

Now there are good points to this film (and it is not mediocre by any means), but, compared to the first film, it ultimately rates a disappointment. Lets hope that, in the unlikely event they make another, they recapture the spirit of the first. If it had been a film in it's own right, I might have given it 3 stars, but comparing it to the first is inevitable, and so 2 stars is sadly the ending score.

The premise of the film is simple. In 1978, Laranna, Queen of the Universe, landed on this planet, wanting to leave the Light of Zartha here on Earth, The villainous and totally evil, shape changing alien, Serleena, vowed to destroy any planet that would give safe harbor to the Light of Zartha. Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) was then the agent in charge of the operation that was to ensure that Queen Laranna would depart Earth, taking the Light of Zartha with her, with Serleena in hot pursuit, thus saving the Earth from destruction.

Enter present day Earth, MiB Agent J (Will Smith), having come into his own since the retirement of his mentor and former partner, Agent K, has neuralized yet another unsatisfactory partner, Agent T (Patrick Warburton). Summoned to MiB headquarters, J meets with the head honcho for MiB, Zed (Rip Torn), and discovers that his new partner is Frank the Pug. Together they are to investigate an unusual occurrence and debrief Rita (Rosario Dawson), the witness. He does so and discovers not only love at first sight when he meets Rita, but also that Serleena (in the form of Lara Flynn Boyle) is back on Earth, once more searching for the Light of Zartha and vowing not to leave Earth without it. Working with a pretty stupid, two headed alien, Scard and Charlie, hilariously played by Johnny Knoxville, Serleena is on the prowl. She must not, however, get her mitts on the Light of Zartha, or all is lost.

It turns out that Agent K must be brought back from the obscurity of Maine, where he is the postmaster, and de-neuralized, as it is he who carries with him the secret of what really happened to the Light of Zartha. Only Agents K and J, working together again, can stop Serleena from getting the Light of Zartha. In the intervening years since they last worked together, Agent J has matured, while Agent K finds himself flummoxed by the technological advances that the MiB have made in the years during his absence. Together again, Agents K and J are just as funny as they were the first time around, and the aliens are better than ever. The locker colony of miniature aliens that worship Agent K is my own personal favorite, though the swinging worm guys, who have their own stereotypic bachelor pad, give them a run for their money in the funny department.

The entire cast gives terrific performances. Look for a lot of fast paced action, as well as funny, though sometimes sophomoric, repartee, a lot of sight gags, wonderful alien creatures courtesy of the magic of special effects, and cameo appearances by Peter Graves and Michael Jackson. If you are willing to sit back, kick off your shoes, and take the film at face value, you will, undoubtedly, enjoy MiB 2.