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'Men in Black II' a knockoff of the original
By STEVE PERSALL, Times Film Critic
© St. Petersburg Times Sequels, by definition, aren't surprising. But Men in Black was such an original piece of work in 1997 that the inevitable reprise seemed to have a better chance than most to amaze audiences again. Men in Black II turns out to be as unimaginative as its title, although eye-catching and mildly humorous in the way it dishes out disappointment. Director Barry Sonnenfeld devises elaborate creatures and delirious action sequences. Yet each episode rushes by in a headlong dash to, well, the next action sequence, as if Sonnenfeld tried to construct the first blockbuster clocked under 80 minutes (he almost makes it). Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones take their money and run alongside Sonnenfeld's relentless repetition. This time, their roles are reversed to provide an excuse for covering the same material. Agent J (Smith) is now the coolly seasoned MIB veteran, although the actor's hip amazement was funnier in the first movie. The switch doesn't suit Jones' style, either. K's memory was erased at the end of Men in Black, leaving him as a dimwitted postmaster in an alien protection program. Jones' deadpan is practically rigor mortis until K takes charge again. Plot development wasn't a strong point of the first movie, but Sonnenfeld's lively creation of an underworld populated and policed by extraterrestrials made that a small problem. Now that the unusual is familiar, the need for a good story is greater. Screenwriters Robert Gordon and Barry Fanaro merely set up another space invader, tarting up the idea by making the creature transform into Lara Flynn Boyle wearing lingerie. Contemplating the plot is a wasted exercise. Everything is an excuse for Sonnenfeld and the monster-teers at Industrial Light & Magic to bring talking worms and Boyle's two-headed flunky (Johnny Knoxville, twice as annoying) to life. Men in Black II is a movie built around images: a giant snake-plant chasing a subway car, a ray-gun finale at the Statue of Liberty that looks planned by Grucci fireworks. The film's visual pleasures are many, but fleeting. For some moviegoers, that will be enough. The only things that make viewers perk up and take notice are the frequent appearances of Frank the pug, an MIB agent promoted from his job as a snitch in the first film. Frank talks a good game in synch with a computer-animated mouth and well-timed responses to his off-camera trainer. After spending $97-million on the sequel, Sonnenfeld's best new trick is an old dog. Men in Black IIGrade: B- Director: Barry Sonnenfeld Cast: Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, Lara Flynn Boyle, Rip Torn, Rosario Dawson Screenplay: Robert Gordon, Barry Fanaro, based on Lowell Cunningham's comic book characters Rating: PG-13; sci-fi violence, crude humor Running time: 88 min. (including seven minutes of end credits)
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From the wire |
