Enjoyable enough

Rating: Null/10 (7 August 2002)

Surprisingly enjoyable sequel boasting good action sequences, often dazzling special effects, some pleasingly funny moments and good-natured performances from the two leads. In a nutshell, a tentacled alien has returned to earth to capture some wonderful light unadvisedly kept here during a previous visit. This light will, if I understood the "plot" correctly, make her all-powerful - or something like that - and only Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) can stop her. Unfortunately, K has been neuralised into an overly efficient postmaster whom Agent J (Will Smith) must de-neuralise back into an MIB! Confused? Who cares! This is all, almost unashamedly, just a vehicle for Smith, Jones and the very latest CGI. A few of the jokes do fall a bit flat with the - not always as sharp as it should have been - script occasionally leaving the lead with the most screen time (Smith) just to flounder. Beyond this, Frank the dog, the megalomaniacal pop star cameo and the "worm guys" really weren't as funny as the filmmakers seem to have imagined they'd be and we could have done without the "joke" which implies a forty year old conspiracy theorist (told off by Agent J for still living with Mom) responds by doing her in with a shovel! At its best, however, MIIB is often ingenious (the clues K must uncover and follow to fully remember where the light is; what goes on in K's locker, how to neuralise the entire city, and so on) and generally entertaining. Overall, this is a decent summer blockbuster which should appeal to fans and non-fans alike (though haters of Will Smith should steer well clear) but will perhaps be enjoyed best of all by those who, like myself, haven't seen the original film since its cinema release some five years ago. Danny Elfman's terrific score was another point in this film's favour!