I really liked Men in Black, and I was waiting impatiently for a while to see Men in Black II. I have read and heard that some people didn’t like this movie. I did. My expectations for the movie weren’t extremely high, so I think that was at least part of why I did end up liking and enjoying Men in Black II. It is a sequel, and they are often not as good as the originals. Men in Black II isn’t, but I thought it was still a good movie. I was disappointed by a few things. Some people may think I have lousy taste in movies since I liked this one. That’s ok. I never claimed to have great taste in movies. It doesn’t take a lot to entertain and amuse me.

CAST

Tommy Lee Jones - Kevin Brown/Kay
Will Smith - Jay
Rip Torn - Zed
Lara Flynn Boyle - Serleena
Johnny Knoxville - Scard/Charlie
Rosario Dawson - Rita
Patrick Warburton - Tee
Tony Shalhoub - Jeebs

Barry Sonnefeld - Director

Men in Black II is rated PG-13 for some mild violence. There is some swearing in the movie, but nothing excessive. The word that rhymes with luck is never used during the movie. There are some scenes that could be upsetting or scary to young children, so parents should keep that in mind. The movie isn’t extremely violent, so it could be ok for children. Parents know what they want their children to see, and what their kids can handle, so they should make the ultimate decision about if their kids see this movie. I do think parents should watch the movie before taking their children to it to make sure it is something they are comfortable with their children seeing. The movie is just over eighty minutes long.

PLOT

This discussion of the plot of the movie could have a few spoilers for the first Men in Black, so if you haven’t seen that one yet, read at your own risk.

In the 1970's, a group of aliens, including their princess, from the planet of Zartha comes to Earth and meet with some MiB agents. They want the MiB to hide the Light of Zartha from Serleena, another alien who is after the light. The MiB refuses because they don’t do things like that. The Zarthaians leave with the light, Serleena following after them. Serleena spends twenty-five years searching for the Light, destroying planets along her way. She returns to the Earth in a very small space ship. Her normal form is as a green viney snake like thing, but she disguises herself as a Victoria’s Secret model. She thinks that the Light is still on Earth and starts looking for it. She ends up killing one alien trying to find where the Light is. The alien had been on Earth for years, living as a human and running a pizza shop. She has a two headed alien, Scard/Charlie, that is helping her search for the Light.

Jay is still with the MiB. He is now working with Agent Tee. They are going to talk to an alien Jay called Jeff. Tee doesn’t listen and ends up making Jeff mad. Jeff is a huge worm like alien with a lot of sharp teeth. He has been living some subway tunnels for years, and he has left the area he is supposed to stay in. The meeting ends after Jeff eats half a subway car. Jay used his neuralizer on Tee before returning to MiB headquarters. Jay is well known in the agency, and he has a reputation for being quick to neuralize other MiB agents. Zed, the chief of MiB, makes Frank the dog Jay’s new partner. They go off to investigate the murder of an alien who ran a pizza shop. There is a witness to the murder, Rita, an employee of the pizza shop.

Jay tells Zed what Rita saw and Zed realizes that Serleena has returned. Zed fills Jay in on Serleena and the Light of Zartha. Only one person knows where the Light is. That person is Kay, Jay’s former partner who was neuralized five years before. Jay and Frank go off to bring Kay back to save the Earth. Kay, now known as Kevin, is a postal worker in a small town. He is very serious and by the book. He doesn’t believe Jay, but he ends up going with him. Many of the agents at MiB headquarters are glad to see Kay back. He has to be deneuralized to regain his memory. Serleena takes control of MiB headquarters before Kay can be deneuralized. Jay and Kay manage to escape. They discover that Jeebs, the pawn shop owner, has a deneuralizer. Jeebs doesn’t seem willing to help at first, but Jay convinces him.

Jay and Kay have to track down some clues to help jar Kay’s slowly returning memory. He left clues around to the location of the Light of Zartha years before. Frank is inside MiB headquarters, but he wasn’t captured when Serleena took over. She is looking for Kay. She is sure he can lead her to the Light. She frees other aliens that had been jailed by MiB to help track down Kay. Many other things happen during the movie.

**End of Plot Discussion**

I thought that Men in Black II was a good movie. It isn’t as good as the first Men in Black, but it isn’t horrible. I enjoyed the movie and was entertained by it. Men in Black II isn’t as original as the first movie, but that is to be expected. Sequels usually aren’t as original as their predecessors. The movie is about the MiB, an agency that tracks, monitors, and keeps in line aliens on Earth. They deal with aliens who do things they aren’t supposed to do. I think it was natural for there to be an alien plotting something that could lead to the destruction of the Earth.

There is action throughout Men in Black II. Jay has to deal with Jeff, a large worm like alien that lives in subway tunnels. Jeff races through tunnels with Jay on his back. Serleena uses the vines that shoot out of her fingers on several different characters. Jay and Kay get into a few fights and chases. There is also some violence throughout the movie. I didn’t think it was excessive, but it could be too much for some people. The movie could be too violent for young children. Parents should see the movie and judge for themselves if they want their child to see the movie.

Men in Black II is funny, but not as funny as the first movie. Maybe they were trying to hard this time. Seeing Tommy Lee Jones in the postal worker’s uniform cracked me up. He looked so funny. He did have some funny lines, but he was funnier in Men in Black. Will Smith was also funny. Frank, the talking and singing dog, and the worm looking aliens were very funny. Frank singing I Will Survive and Who Let the Dogs Out was hilarious.

There were many special effects throughout Men in Black II. The movie wouldn’t have worked without them. I thought the special effects were well done by ILM. Some of the aliens were created by special effects. I think some of them were puppets like in the first Men in Black. Jay and Kay use some different guns that I think were done by special effects - at least the shooting part anyway. I really liked the flying car.

Serleena was a nasty alien, but I think the giant bug in the Edgar suit from Men in Black was a better villain. Lara Flynn Boyle was fine as Serleena, but I like her better in The Practice. I have been wondering something concerning her portrayal as Serleena though. Where did those breasts come from? Boyle is a very, very thin woman - she wears a size zero - and she is not well endowed in that area. She has no extra pounds anywhere. I really think the breasts had to be done with computers. A push up bra can do that, but the woman wearing the push up bra has to have something to push up for that to work. Boyle doesn’t have anything there to push up. She is pretty much flat chested, so a push up bra couldn’t have helped her in that area. At least I don’t think so.

Michael Jackson has a small cameo in Men in Black II. Martha Stewart was shown once or twice. I also spotted a few other people. One of the postal workers was someone from ILM. I know that because I have seen him talking about the movies he has done effects for on a few different DVDs in the special features. Rick Baker, the man who did the make up effects for some of the aliens, briefly showed up at MiB headquarters. He is just shown from behind, but I recognized his hair.

The acting in Men in Black II wasn’t horrible, but it was Oscar caliber either. For the most pat, it was fine. Tommy Lee Jones did seem to be a little bored at times. I did enjoy Will Smith. Jay has grown as an MiB agent, so his performance was a little different from the first movie. Johnny Knoxville was amusing as Serleena’s two headed hence alien.

CHARACTERS

Jay - MiB agent. He has gone through many partners in the last five years. He keeps neuralizing them. He is good at his job and spends most of his time working. He has a reputation as a good agent, but a little quick to neuralize partners. He seems glad to be working with Kay again. At times he still wants to rush into situations without fully thinking them through.

Kevin Brown/Kay - He is now a postal worker by the name of Kevin Brown. He was neuralized five years before and he doesn’t remember anything about his many years as an MiB agent. He is very serious and by the book. He doesn’t believe Jay, but he does go with him. Kay seems a bit bewildered at times before his memory returns. He has to keep Jay in line a few times again.

Serleena - Evil alien looking for the Light of Zartha. She has been looking for the light for twenty-five years and is determined to find it. She has destroyed planets and killed to find it. She is convinced that the Light is on the Earth. She normally looks like a big mess of vines that wiggle and slither around like many snakes, but while on Earth, she disguises herself as a Victoria’s Secret model.

Scard/Charlie - He is a two headed alien working with Serleena to find the Light of Zartha.

Zed - Chief of MiB.

Rita - Woman who witnesses Serleena killing her boss. She ends up spending some time with the worm like aliens. When I saw the movie, I was sure her name was Laura, but when I was doubled checking character and actor names, she is listed as Rita.

Frank - Alien who is in the form of a talking dog on Earth. He works at MiB and works with Jay for a while.

Tee - MiB agent that works with Jay until he screws up big time with Jeff and is then neuralized.

Jeff - A huge worm like alien with many sharp teeth that lives in subway tunnels.

Jeebs - Alien that owns a pawnshop. He has a deneuralizer. He has a history with Kay and isn’t too willing to help him get his memory back until Jay persuades him.

Men in Black II is an entertaining movie. It isn’t as good as the original, and I was a bit disappointed in a few things, but I still enjoyed the movie. If people don’t have extremely high expectations for the movie, it can be enjoyable and worth watching. If you expect it to be better than the original, you’ll probably be disappointed. If I could have, I would have given the movie three and a half stars. Since that isn't an option, I rounded up to four.




Recommended:
Yes

Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children up Ages 8