Men In Black II

Its the last suit you'll ever wear....again

A review by Mike Shea Movie Rating: ( * * · · · ) DVD Rating: ( * * * * · )

I didn't like Men In Black 1 so this isn't the best review to follow if you did. I don't like formula movies, movies that act as vehicles for the actors within to do whatever it is they're famous for. Men In Black and Men In Black 2 are both vehicles for the comedy routine of Will Smith. The clear advantage this movie has over the first is that it is only one hour and twenty five minutes long. At least it doesn't steal too much of your life away.

The story for MIB2 isn't too terrible. I enjoyed the transition of Smith's character from the rookie in the original to the new seasoned alien hunter in 2. I wasn't a fan of the wacky alien collection they trot through either of the movies, two does it as badly as one. Another part of the formula seems to include a hot Victoria Secret underwear model opening her shirt every 20 minutes or so. Tommy Lee Jones does well with the formulaic material, adding a lot of his dry subtle humor to an otherwise obnoxious B movie. Looking at it strictly as the B-movie it seems to constantly remind us of (the introduction summary actually plays like Amazon Women on the Moon), it isn't too bad. One scene seemed to stick out to me as one that actually kicked the story up a notch, the one where Jones's character remembers the fateful day 30 years earlier where he saved earth.

The DVD of MIB2 is a good representation of the film. It has a 1.85 to 1 16x9 enhanced picture, Dolby Digital 5.1 sound and a full disc of extras. There is a commentary with the director, Barry Sonnenfeld, and packs of featurettes. If you are a huge fan of the original, this one won't be too out of place in your collection. For anyone who respects film, I don't think I would recommend its purchase.

MIB2 was a movie that a bunch of suits knew would make money simply by tossing Will Smith into a cheesy sci-fi wannabe script. They knew they'd make money on it, so very little creativity went into it to make it anything more than they set out. At 1:25, it at least doesn't waste too much of your time, but this is far from what I would call a good movie.