Like most sequels, this one just isn't as good as the original.

Rating: Null/10 (3 July 2002)

While entertaining, "MIB II" - like most sequels, just isn't as good as the original. Just because the original cast and director come back doesn't mean that it's going to have the same magic, which is definitely the case here. Considering how much the first one made, though, it was inevitable that this would happen.
Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones proved in the original that they can work together well and have good on-screen chemistry. However, it seems that they just weren't given much to run with this time. Clocking in at around 80 minutes, the thin-plotted sequel does its best to (quickly) run though the motions and entertain with some "new" material at the same time. This time there are bigger guns, bigger monsters, but a little less of everything else. The best jokes were in the previews and there are not a whole lot of surprises here. Laura Flynn Boyle and Johnny Knoxville were fine but didn't do too much to improve the interest level in the franchise. However, Rip Torn and Tony Shalhoub were definitely entertaining, and the Michael Jackson cameo was funny and disturbing at the same time, just like the, er, man himself.

This one is worth checking out in the theater if you're a big Will Smith fan or generally just like big blockbuster sequels. If you're a fan of film and not just mindless entertainment, this might be a good one to skip. In a summer season riddled with familiar characters and growing numbers on the end of the titles, this is yet another "eat your popcorn and let your eyes glaze over" kind of flick that is best left to video if you're really curious about it.