Related articles and links |  1 of 6

Fans of Barry Sonnenfeld's hit sci-fi/comedy Men in Black packed theaters to celebrate the return of Agents J and K, the illegal-alien-nabbing heroes played by Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones. "They're back in black," the previews promised. But Men in Black 2 (a.k.a. MIIB), this week's box-office champ, recycles so many of the original's ideas that critics complain it's just a boring re-hash.

Perhaps the most notable change is that Agent J (Smith), who was recruited as a rookie in the last episode, has become the expert. His mentor, Agent K (Jones), has to be brought back from a memory-wipe to return to active duty. K knows the fate of something called "the Light," a device that could give a nasty, lingerie-clad alien (Lara Flynn Boyle) the power to destroy the world as we know it. If K can get his memory back and find "the Light" before the bad guys do, he'll save us all.

But he can't save the movie from aimless plot twists and bad comedy. Mainstream critics claim that the joke-a-minute writing that worked so well in the original seems half-hearted and poorly executed here. Religious press critics are similarly disenchanted, not only for the lack of ideas, but for the lack of a story or anything meaningful.

Jeff Diaz (The Film Forum) asks, "Am I the last human on Earth that likes to have his entertainment be good? Are we a society that prizes witless, inane 'entertainment' so much that we invest so heavily in it?" Likewise, Hillari Hunter (Christian Spotlight) asks, "Have you ever watched a movie where it is obvious that the actors are saying dialogue that is supposed to be funny, but you're not laughing?"

Michael Elliott (Movie Parables) writes, "This convoluted and ultimately disappointing plot amounts to very little as the actors seem satisfied to lazily collect their paychecks and simply let the CGI animators upstage them with their various alien creatures. … The animation and makeup effects are uninspired. What was fresh and original in the first film feels tired, stale, and unfunny here." A critic for The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops agrees: "Both Smith and Jones seem comfortable—possibly a little too comfortable—as they get into a rhythm. However, there's a certain been-there-done-that quality to their performances that neither can really shake."

Redundancy isn't the only problem, according to Paul Bicking (Preview). Bicking is bothered by "frequent violence in a humorous manner with too much crude and suggestive material for the expected younger audience." Ted Baehr (Movieguide) agrees, criticizing "highly sexual" sight gags.

A couple of critics didn't seem so bothered. Bob Smithouser (Focus on the Family) says the movie is "a fun ride at times. It's impossible for MIIB to match the sheer novelty of its predecessor, but considering how much of a letdown it could have been, the sequel holds up pretty well on an entertainment level."

Holly McClure (Crosswalk) says, "Is it a sequel worth seeing? It's an entertaining, thrilling crowd pleaser that doesn't take itself too seriously." But she admits, "I was a little disappointed. With a little more character depth and a few good lines, MIB II could have been a classic."

Christian viewers might be puzzled by a surreal sequence that spoofs Moses coming down from the mountain with the Ten Commandments. We discover that an entire culture of tiny aliens are living inside a locker in the MIB headquarters. When Agent K opens the locker and addresses the species, it gives them a sort of religious experience. Their tiny spokesman is dressed like Moses. He addresses the crowd and directs their attention to the only printed document they have ever received from the human "deity." The tablet of holy writ is a business card for a local video store. Thus, the masses are found chanting in unison the specifics of late fees and due dates, the only words they have received from a higher reality. It's an elaborate joke, and one of the few that is actually funny. If the film showed any signs of intelligent satire, I would wonder—Is Sonnenfeld just going for cheap laughs? Or is he suggesting that religion is just a ludicrous façade shoddily constructed by people hungry for meaning?

next page... |  1 of 6

share this page

July (Web-only) 2002, Vol. 46