Smarter and sharper

Rating: 7/10 (30 November 2002)

Perhaps my review of this movie is so positive simply because I expected MIIB to suck. The professional reviews were not glowing in mid 2002, and I actually missed seeing this film on its theatrical run because of them. The fact is that MIIB is superb because it is SMART. It is self-satirizing, subtle, sprightly-paced and well performed. Will Smith's seeming biting back of the words that he just said is so delightful, and the film is not smeared with profanity or unnecessary juvenile humor. Tommy Lee is snappy in his delivery, and Rosario Dawson and Lara Flynn Boyle are not merely beautiful but thoroughly smart.
In writing this script, someone decided not to dumb down the story. Still, the first film has some of the most memorable lines, where this movie has some of the most memorable scenes. I admit that I laughed HARD when Frank the dog did his extremely predictable but marvelously delivered jokes. Some of the jokes are just chuckleworthy, but they're ALL fairly funny. And Sonnenfeld did something that respected the audience's intelligence in his direction. You can watch the movie more than once and catch many details without getting bored.
I cannot give MIIB too many points because it loses something for some cheap jokes, but it's a film I recommend you see because it is so much more smarter than its predecessor.