Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6002 in DVD
• Released on: 2002-11-26
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English, French
• Subtitled in: English, French
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 88 minutes

Amazon.com
More remake than sequel, Men in Black II safely repeats everything that made Men in Black the blockbuster hit of 1997. That's fine if you loved the original's fresh humor, weird aliens, and loopy ingenuity, but as sequels go, it's pure déjà vu. Makeup wizard Rick Baker is the only MIB alumnus who's trying anything new, while director Barry Sonnenfeld and costars Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones (as alien-fighting agents Jay and Kay, respectively) are on autopilot with an uninspired screenplay. The quest of a multitentacled alien--on Earth in the form of Lara Flynn Boyle--for the light of Zartha requires Jay to deneuralize Kay, whose restored memory contains the key to saving the planet. The tissue-thin premise allows all varieties of special effects--mostly familiar, with some oddly hilarious new stuff tossed in for good measure. Certainly enjoyable as a popcorn distraction, but the MIB magic has worn a bit thin. --Jeff Shannon

DVD features
The hands-down highlight of MIIB's bonus features is "The Chubb Chubbs," a delightful computer-animated cartoon (briefly shown in theaters with MIIB) that has the awkward distinction of being funnier and more inventive than MIIB. The other features offer an extensive dossier of production details, paying worthy tribute to the ingenuity of MIIB's creative team. Fifteen featurettes cover virtually every stage of production, from conceptual designs (in the DVD-ROM section, along with the complete screenplay) to Danny Elfman's dynamic score. Director Barry Sonnenfeld's "how we did it" commentary is as lazily redundant as his film, and his onscreen scribblings (or "Telestrator Diagrams," like those used during televised football games) serve no valuable purpose. In contrast, multiangle scene deconstructions fascinatingly demonstrate the many elements that make up a completed special-effects sequence. The blooper reel is what you'd expect (one viewing is enough), and additional behind-the-scenes material can be accessed through the "Alien Broadcast" feature, a film-in-progress variation of New Line's Infinifilm DVD format. The alternate ending is arguably better than the one actually used, and Will Smith's ultra-lavish music video "Black Suits Comin' (Nod Ya Head)" is just like the movie: big, loud, and pure Hollywood. Is that a good thing? You decide. -Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews

Saving the Earth From the Scum of the Universe, Again...
After successfully saving the planet from a deadly alien threat and raking in big money at the box office, the boys at 'MIB' were livin' the good life and enjoying all the perks of being beloved by moviegoers. Which is probably why Columbia Pictures felt the need to bring more intergalactic action and hilarity to the masses with a sequel to the highly popular film with the hopes of starting a franchise. So, 5 years after their first big screen adventure, Agent's K and J (Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith) are back again to save mankind from the worst scum of the universe, in Barry Sonnenfeld's "Men in Black 2".

"Men in Black 2" finds Agent J (Will Smith) having a difficult time keeping partners while protecting the Earth from alien threats. After he de-neuralized his former partner/mentor Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones), J feels he's better as loner agent than partnered up. However, when a deadly new threat comes to Earth in the guise of a lingerie model (Lara Flynn Boyle), J and 'MIB' must bring in the one agent who will stand a chance of stopping this threat and saving humanity once again, Agent K. The only problem is, he doesn't remember anything about his life in 'MIB'.

What happens when a movie is so successful that it makes tons of money, turns its young lead actor into a mega-star, and catches audiences completely by surprise with how good and unique of a movie it was? Well, the obvious answer would be to make a sequel and cash in on the original film's success, which is exactly what Columbia Pictures did. However, there is a slight problem with this plan, how do you top what's already been done? The surprise factor is gone, the freshness has worn off, and it's possible that due to the mediocre animated series that was spawned from the original movie has diminished people's interest in the series.

To solve their possible problems Columbia Pictures brought on two writers that can handle the type of material needed for this type of movie, meaning plenty of action, humor, and sci-fi fun. Next, the powers-that-be managed to convince the main cast to reprise their roles from the first film, and lastly bring back the director that made them successful in the first place. So, did Columbia's plan of action work for this film or was it to fall prey to being yet another inferior sequel in an already long list? The answer, mostly yes, but there were some issues with the movie.

The cast was excellent, which isn't surprising given the talent assembled here, but as much as I enjoy Will Smith in most movies he makes, at times he actually felt boring to me here. I understand that the goal was having his character in the place of Tommy Lee Jones' at the beginning of the movie, being the serious career agent, no longer the care free rookie, but he came off like he was bored, leaving his performance feeling stiff. Now, I will say that once Tommy Lee Jones' character was back in play, Will Smith lightened up and the movie quickly picked up and felt more like the original, but the early part of his performance does put a bit of a damper on things. Tommy Lee Jones returns to playing the role that he does best, and apparently it's the only role he knows how to do, the no-nonsense serious man with a mission and a really dry, subtle sense of humor. Though the schtick is the same as before, it's still fun to see these two characters interact on screen, easily erasing the crappiness of the children's animated series. The supporting cast was solid throughout, I did grow tired of Johnny Knoxville's character, but he did provide some humorous moments. The rest of the cast was fun, and giving more screen time to Frank the Pug and the 'Worm' guys was a nice touch.

The story was a good follow-up to the original, with plenty of humor, though not as much as I'd hoped for before Agent K returns, but still the jokes were funny. The action was energetic like before, though a little more over-the-top in places than even the previous film had done, and the sci-fi elements were inventive. However, with all that being said, the story did suffer some from the fact that it had lost its freshness and originality since the first one was so much of a surprise and audiences didn't know what to expect, but this time we had a pretty good idea. Honestly it didn't matter what anyone did in this movie, no matter what was tried they just couldn't match the original, which is unfortunate since the characters are so fun and story potential is everywhere, but in the end you still can't do better than what's come before. This is actually one of those rare cases when the potential for a sequel is there, but the studio should avoid going through with it for the simple fact that you most likely won't be able to do better than what you already have done.

"Men in Black 2" is still a fun movie, though not as good as the original, but that doesn't mean the movie's not worth seeing or owning. Yes, there are some problems with this movie in some areas, but most are overcome early on, leaving audiences with a rather enjoyable movie experience.

"Men in Black 2" is rated PG-13 for violence, language, and sensuality.

The men should have stayed gone
I remember having such high hopes for this movie, but it turned out that the movie trailer had served up all the laughs and the rest of the flick was shockingly dull and un-orginal. But I get it. Sequels are hard and Hollywood are usually a greedy lot. The plot re: returning the Light couldn't have been more campy or paper thin if you tried. But, and it's a big but, it may have worked a little better for children. I'm not sure. I don't have children. Anyhoot, if you have absolutely nothing to do or you're searching for what NOT to do with a sequel, check this film out. Otherwise, watch the first movie and then pretend that this one never happened. Where's a good nuturalizer when you need one?

A Good Sequel
A very good comedy, Men in Black II picks up four years after the first movie left off, and continues to shed light on Earth's finest agents. This time the arrival of an unexpected guest from outer space will rock their world...
Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith, Lara Flynn Boyle and Rosario Dawson (both of whom are HOT!), and the rest of the cast carry out their performances very well.
The setting, the plot, the music, the humor, and the dialogues are all wonderful!
Overall, it is a movie worth watching, and even though quite silly at times, it will surely put you in a good mood! 4.5 Stars