MIB II is Nothing

Rating: 3/10 (12 July 2002)

[Standard Disclaimer--warning, this review may contain spoilers.]
I gave it a 3. The best word to describe this sequel is: Nothing
I went out to dinner with three friends and two of them wanted to see it. The other had doubts but wasn't opposed to seeing it. I was heavily opposed to it. Why? Because the vast majority of sequels are awful or at the very least mediocre. Unsurprisingly, two of my friends grumbled after the movie as I gloated. "I told you so!"
I didn't dislike MIB 2. It isn't downright stupid or a complete insult to your intelligence. The problem is that it lacks a decent plot; it just recycles the same MIB gag that we enjoyed in the first movie. Except for one worthwhile alien (the one that hovers), it is uninteresting. The fact that the producers, the director, and the script writer were under pressure to make a sequel is obvious. It's as though they passed MIB through an automated Hollywood sequel making machine.
What's sad is that they could have made a good movie if they had worked up a real plot (not too hard for professional script writers), catered less to children, added a bit of intrigue and suspense, and made the aliens less corny. Recycling the talking dog did not work.
Don't be surprised if MIB 2 hits the second run theaters within a month and a half. The normally crowded theater I saw it in was almost empty. Now I know why.