Men in Black II

Delivers a quick buzz, lots of stuff to look at, and a totally nonnutritious joy that can only be attained with the aid of artificial flavorings and Yellow #5. In a nutshell, it's the perfect summer movie.

Large budget notwithstanding, the movie is such a blip on the year's radar screen that it's tempting just to go with it for the ride. But this time, the old MIB label stands for Milder Isn't Better.

As fizzy as the first, but not quite as refreshing. The pleasurable, eye-popping sense of surprise has diminished, and the teasingly referential attitude shows signs of fatigue.

On the positive side, the four Worm Guys haven't lost their squiggly charm, and Rip Torn is always welcome as MIB mastermind Zed. On the minus side, you get two Johnny Knoxvilles, one of them a tiny head that protrudes from the big one's shoulder.

Suffers from a fatal lack of purpose. This sleek, visually inventive but frustratingly flat movie is made up entirely of throwaway bits -- occasionally amusing, even ingenious bits. But still, they're just bits.

Smith and Jones sometimes have to paddle hard to keep their heads above the toilet water in which screenwriters Robert Gordon (Galaxy Quest) and Barry Fanaro (Kingpin) occasionally dunk them. But if the presence of Smith and Jones is indeed the tinker-proof ingredient of the Men in Black formula, little else seems to have survived the production unaltered.

If it isn't the worst sequel ever made, it's only because it has too much competition: Impersonal and frenetic, it's a landmark Hollywood disgrace.

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The fading luster **** franchise: A 3.0-star sequel stuck in a cosmic loop.2012 (3.0)I watched "Men in Black II" in 2012, and it felt like a decent but somewhat uninspired continuation of the high-tension original. While the first film was a "sensational" breakthrough in the sci-fi comedy genre, this 2002 sequel struggled to recapture that same "raw" magic ten years after its initial release. The "chewy" chemistry between Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones was still present, providing a comfortable rhythm, but the plot felt like a familiar rehash of tropes rather than a fresh "revelation." The alien designs were imaginative, yet the storytelling lacked the visceral edge that usually keeps me fully immersed in a 4.0-star or 5.0-star experience. With 95% preservation of my memory, I recall enjoying the lighthearted gags and the fast-paced action, but the overall depth was missing, leaving me in a state of mild satisfaction rather than true excitement. It wasn't a "1.0-star trauma" like some of the hollow fantasies I've encountered, but it didn't possess the intellectual weight or the daring subversion of a masterpiece like "Chronicle." It stands in my archive as a solid 3.0-star viewing—a nostalgic but safe journey that offered a bit of fun without ever truly breaking the fourth wall or challenging my expectations of what a sci-fi sequel could be.

This film is the weakest of the original trilogy, still beautiful and fun but not up to par with the other two, too full of self-citations and stuff already seen. However, entertaining and amusing film, even if without too many pretensions and without plot inventiveness.

Just for the record, I loved the first Men in Black movie, it was funny, original and just enormously enjoyable. This sequel is not as good, but it is perfectly decent considering how awful some sequels have been. The stunts, special effects are gadgetry are just impeccable, as are the sets and cinematography, and Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones still make for a charismatic and entertaining duo. I also liked Rip Torn and Rosario Dawson. The pacing is also fine, not as fast paced but efficient enough, and the music was catchy. However, the script does have too many weak spots(some of Smith's jokes are somewhat amusing though) and while the plot starts off great it meanders. The direction wasn't as brisk or as innovative either, and the ending was a little too silly for me. Overall, decent sequel but not great. 6/10 Bethany Cox

For a handful of dollars... more. In this movie, we return to the world of MIB to follow a crisis where, business as usual, the Earth can be destroyed by aliens who are very angry with us. In the first line of defense is Agent Jay (Will Smith), that we saw in the first movie. Now he is a senior officer with much experience in his work, however, he will need the help of his former partner, Kay (Tommy Lee Jones) who is retired and whom the memory has been erased. Its a sequel to the first film, made a few years later and keeping the same actors and director. The script, this time, its signed by Robert Gordon. Like many sequels, this one failed to keep the original movie level. If the first film was a comedy that worked well, this one barely works as comedy, focusing too much on a kind of "re-reading" and "rewriting" of situational and contextual jokes that we saw in the first film. So, who saw the first may not find funny the second one. It's like eating every day the same dinner: sickens and loses joke. Not much to talk about the interpretations of two protagonists: both kept well their characters and, if the film didn't please someone, probably the fault was not theirs but the one who wrote the dialogs and jokes. What saves the film from being a total and complete failure are the massive special effects (they always sell) and the romantic sub-plot associated with Kay's past, who gives some dramatic depth to the story. When we watch the release of a sequel there are always two possible justifications. First: critics loved the first film and this has resulted in awards and notoriety; second: the audience loved the first film and this has resulted in a commercial success, a blockbuster. Personally, I think this sequel was launched with only one objective: to profit at the expenses of those who liked the first film. Its the cinema industry making money as best she knows. It's pity.