A real let-down

Rating: 5/10 (16 July 2002)

The original Men in Black is one of my favorite movies. It was a perfect blend of action and comedy. Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith played perfectly off each other and the supporting cast was impeccable. It also had something of a timeless quality. When I first saw that a sequel was nigh, I was quite excited.
What a let-down.
MIB II was far more sappy than the original. It was touching to see K pine after the woman he could never have, but to see J making out with a girl who (of course) turned out to be the treasure they sought was too much. The entire point of the MIB is that they are unable to have those kind of attachments. The comedy was also way too topical. Frank barking along to the Baha Men was a little funny the first 170 times I saw it on TV, but in ten years, who will remember that was supposed to be funny? Also, I respect a little commercial tie-in with big summer movies of this like, and even a little product placement, but MIB II seemed like a 90-minute commercial. I got over that real quick. Oh, and I don't know why, but I don't really buy Will Smith's Ghetto-speak anymore. About the eighth time he referred to something as a "joint" I was ready to neuralize him.