Men in Black II

_**Fun sequel, but not as good as the first one**_ Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith and Rip Torn return in this sequel about a secret government agency based in New York City that deals with extraterrestrial interactions on Earth. Like the original 1997 movie, "Men in Black II" (2002) is amusing & thrilling in the first half, but loses its mojo a bit in the second half where some of the jokes fall flat. If you’ve seen the first film, there’s no need to see this one; but, if you want more with slight variations, then check it out. It’s the lesser movie, but it still fills the bill for when you’re in the mood for fun & thrilling popcorn entertainment. On the female front, Linda Fiorentino is absent, replaced by Lara Flynn Boyle as the villain and Rosario Dawson as a pizzaria employee that catches Jay’s eyes. Meanwhile, the stunning Paige Brooks appears in a couple of small scenes. The next two sequels are: Men in Black 3” (2012) and “Men in Black: International” (2019); the latter is the only entry in the series (so far) without Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith. The film runs 1 hour, 28 minutes, and was shot in New York City & surrounding area (e.g. Fire Island for the Post Office scene), as well as Los Angeles/Culver City/Pasadena. GRADE: B-/C+

Decent watch, probably won't watch again, and can only recommend if you REALLY liked the first on and MIB International isn't available. They literally start the movie by subtly explaining why the formula doesn't work without Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith, hell Patrick Warburton would have been an AWESOME option to be in the movie for real. This is a weird one because the movie is well cast, it has an interesting premise and villain, and the story is well written up to a point. And hell adding Rosario Dawson makes anything better, but this one just lands weak. They seem to do a worst job of showing us all the same tricks (sometimes literally) from the first movie, but Agent K feels shoehorned in, and the resolution isn't satisfying at all. Maybe if there was an epilogue, but the movie is from the perspective of the MIB and they're planet side only. The threat is also weird. They could have taken their time and did a mystery movie, but instead they put a clock on it and rush it so it's barely interesting and there is no connecting logical dots for deductions. Then it's arbitrary when the do figure it out, and there is no explanation of why, how or what actually lead up to that. It is literally no information leading up to a fact, then no information resulting from that fact other than a simple reaction. The first movie is just better, and MIB International is a lot more fun.

The first in this franchise had the advantage of being an original, quirky and entertaining spoof of all things sci fi with a couple of characterful detectives trying to stop world decimation. This just drags that enjoyable concept, kicking and screaming, into a sequel that is nowhere near as good, as well written, nor do Tommy Lee Jones ("K") or Will Smith ("J") have anything like enough to work with to make this film anything other than an unremarkable story overly-featuring a talking dog. The premise is that "K" has left the "MIB" and so obviously has no memories of his time at the agency. With global extermination looming yet again, "J" knows that his only hope is to reactive his erstwhile mentor's memories - and quickly. Easier said than done! "J" gradually comes to realise, though, that "K" had anticipated some sort of necessity for his return and so had left some mnemonic clues for them both to find enabling him, we hope, to return to fighting fitness. The nature of the story has flipped the dynamic leaving much more of the frankly irritating "J" in pole position far too often for me, and "Z" (Rip Torn) doesn't make much of an impact either as we are introduced to a special effects fest of alien creations that go some way to creating a bit of a sense of fun with this otherwise disappointing follow-up. Too much dialogue and too much Will Smith - one film was plenty.