A pretty decent sequel

Rating: 6/10 (27 February 2016)

Five years after the original Oscar-winning "Men in Black", the story continues and the two main protagonists are played by Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones with Barry Sonnenfeld reprising his position as director. The main antagonist is played by Lara Flynn Boyle this time, a mean tentacle lady, while the good girl is portrayed by Rosario Dawson. About Flynn Boyle, she is fine for the most part, even if she is not as great and memorable as D'Onofrio in the first one. Rosario Dawson felt really forgettable to me. She is basically a non-character throughout the entire film until the great revelation in the end. But it's really more the fault how the character was written and not Dawson's acting.
I have a bit of a problem with the fact that they brought back TLJ's character here as a co-lead as it puts a bit of a question mark behind the ending and major parts of the first film in terms of his retirement being the right thing. Still I like him as an actor and that's why I am not too mad about it. "Men in Black 2" had some strong parts and some not so strong. Despite the scenario of the world possibly ending, it is still mostly a comedy with lots of science fiction and fantasy impact, but never really a dramatic film. Thumbs up here as science fiction comedy is really a challenge and nothing we see that often. About the main antagonist, I found it a bit ridiculous that she could easily gain control over the agency, but still fails in killing the girl and the two agents. So is she really powerful or not?
Anyway, as a whole, this was a pretty decent watch. I think this film got a lot of unjust criticism because of the mere fact that it is a sequel. It does not feel as new and fresh again, but had this been the first film actually in a slightly altered version involving TLJ's character, then people would have appreciated it more I think. Even without an Oscar win or nomination, I enjoyed the watch. It is also never dragging and it was a good decision to keep it considerably under 90 minutes, actually only 80 if you don't count the credits. Well done for the most part and I will probably also watch the third at some point. Thumbs up.