Return of the Franchised Sequels.

Rating: 3/10 (9 July 2002)

A sequel by definition is generally not as good as the first film with few exceptions. It is no surprise a sequel of this nature has generated so much interest and box office cash, given the success of the first film. It is also no surprise that this film is extremely disappointing and fails to even move on from the first film.
You can be excused for thinking that Men In Black 2 was a repeat of the original, quite frankly the plot is almost a direct copy, change a few names, create some interesting enough new characters and you have the second film. The world of MIB is explored no further than the first film; no new technologies save for improvements on previous inventions and absolutely no new quirks or revelations that we came to enjoy in the original. The film instead spends more time expanding some of the smaller characters from the original, such as the worms and Frank the dog. They are certainly funny and enjoyable, but I can catch that stuff on Saturday morning cartoons, whereas this is a movie I have paid good money to see.
Will Smith has followed up his Oscar nominated performance in Ali with an inconsistent portrayal of Jay, a character he created so well first time around. He is totally unconvincing as a man in charge and fails to convince anyone that he has moved on or matured from before. Then when Tommy Lee Jones returns as Kay, Jay returns to the same character as he was in the original, leaving a gaping hole of inconsistency. Credit still must go to Tommy, who once again turns on his military charm and plays his role to perfection, be it one that seems impassionate.
I really don't want to get started on the plot, because despite being non-existent there are too may holes and presumptions, to list them all would take longer to read than the film itself, which is incredibly short.
Overall this is nothing more than a franchised picture designed for financial gain on the back of the original. Soon enough the public will get the picture and MIIB will slide into the halls of tragic sequels. It can be enjoyed on a purely no-brainer, superficial level and I certainly found enough humour in it to stand it, but waiting for the video may be a better option.