Men in Black 2 (2002)
Review by Doc Ezra
Film:
DVD:

Written by Robert Gordon and Barry Fanaro
Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld
Starring Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, Lara Flynn Boyle, Johnny Knoxville, and Rip Torn

Features:

• Director’s commentary with optional telestrator
  
• Alien broadcast
  
• Animated short
  
• Alternate ending
  
• Blooper reel
  
• 15 production featurettes
  
• Will Smith music video
  
• Multi-angle scene analysis
  
• Theatrical one-sheets
  
• Filmographies
  
• DVD-ROM content
  

Rating: PG–13

Anamorphic: Yes

My advice: Rent it.

With the overwhelming success of the first movie in the series, it was only a matter of time and hectic actors’ schedules before Men in Black 2 hit the screen. Bringing the excellent pair of Smith and Jones back together, this sequel manages to capture what made the first installment excellent, but suffers somewhat from a weaker script and more obvious gags.

This time out, Agent Jay (Smith) has become the workaholic, humorless straight man following his partner’s retirement. Striding through MiB headquarters as the new prototype of the ultimate agent, he is both respected and feared by his fellow agents. He won’t work with a partner, and won’t take a break from his duties, and Zed fears an early burnout for the super-agent.

But the rogue Kylothian Serleena (Boyle), in the guise of a lingerie model, has landed, and wants to recover an item of great power that she believes is hidden on Earth. Unfortunately, only Jay’s retired (and neuralyzed) partner Kay (Jones) might have any idea where said item is. Recovering Kay from his new job as postmaster in the middle of nowhere, Jay plans to restore his memory and get the case closed ASAP. Unfortunately, Serleena and her minions lay siege to MiB HQ, and the pair have to make their escape. With the rest of the organization down for the count, the duo must once again save the world from intergalactic scumbags.

In essence, the movie follows the formula established by the original. Jokester plus straight man plus bizarre critters plus big honkin’ guns equals raucous alien-bashing fun. Unfortunately, the movie sometimes seems too aware of the long shadow cast by its predecessor, and tries too hard to stand out as distinct. This leads to gags that seem forced and sequences that deviate from what was most successful in the first film.

This is not to say that it’s a bad movie. Just inferior in some ways to the original (and as a sequel, that’s hardly a terrible surprise). The movie is still funny enough, even if the plot seems to have some holes in it. And there’s plenty of alien mayhem and de-atomizers blasting away. The visuals are phenomenal, and the performances of Smith and Jones are superb again. Boyle hams up the femme fatale a bit too much, but Knoxville is plenty entertaining as her incompetent lackey.

The DVD is a stacked, two-disc affair, with more than a dozen featurettes on various aspects of the production, along with commentary track, multi-angle scene breakdown, music video, and DVD-ROM content. There’s no knocking the treatment rolled out for the film. Fans of the franchise will be well pleased with all there is to offer.

This one’s definitely worth a trip to the rental outlet of your choice, and if you enjoyed the film in theatres, you’ll likely want to own a copy. Most viewers could get by with the rent, though.