2
(nothing direct)
6
(strong language, sexuality, mild violence)
4
(see it or skip it)
I can't say I often hear many good things about "Men In Black 2" even from fans of the franchise. I find it slightly better than just tolerable but far from an exceptional movie. What makes it positive is that I laughed harder at this one than the first, at least during certain portions. Frank the pug and the Worms are hysterical - I could watch an entire move about them. I’m not alone in that, either; many who otherwise criticise the film find Frank amusing.
There’s also some tremendous comedy with J & K (Will Smith & Tommy Lee Jones) though they don’t quite have the chemistry of the first movie. There are a few other comical high points as well ranging from low-brow, crude jokes to subtle, more sophisticated humor.
Fewer MiB patrons care for Johnny Knoxville as Scrad/Charlie, but I think he plays off the goofy, cowardly, slimy characteristics perfectly. Rip Torn does a perfect reprisal of Zed, Rosario Dawson is absolutely adorable, and Tony Shalhoub as Jeebes, though I don’t like his new grungy look as much, is possibly the funniest humanoid in the whole thing. There are a few good cameos, also, the best of which is Michael Jackson (if only because of Zed's reaction).
The experience starts to fall apart with the villain. Laura Flynn Boyle could have been better. I'm not a hater, she does a fine job in other projects like "Twin Peaks," but she doesn’t own her role like Vincent did from the first movie – she’s just not threatening. Besides that the film tries so hard to push her sex appeal that it actually had the opposite effect on me. LOOK!! I'M SEXY BEYOND ALL REASON!! It's just too heavy-handed.
Some of the special effects lack. I think the whole thing is so overly ambitious that the massive amounts of effects they have don’t come off as well as they should. I wouldn’t say that it’s all so bad that it just completely stinks, but Scrad/Charlie looks unduly cartoony a lot, Serleena’s finger worms don’t always flow naturally, and other images follow that trend. On the flip side, however, Frank’s mouth movements and a lot of the aliens look totally realistic, and the new car looks great.
A sore spot for me is the wire fighting. Zed jumps up and does a Liu Kang style kick, K jumps and lowers slowly to the floor (fighting the ballchinian). I can allow for all the aliens and technology beyond our capabilities, but the MiB agents are still human and should therefore follow the laws of physics as we know them. I don’t know about you, but those wire shots tend to pull me from the world of imagination and scream, “See? It’s just a movie!” It would be different if this were a Mel Brooks parody movie or set in the surrealistic Matrix where laws of physics don’t apply.
Agent L is tossed away like unwanted underwear so that J can flirt with the new girl. Thankfully she's at least the only one that gets such treatment.
I could have overlooked everything that isn’t perfect (except maybe the wire fighting) if not for one blazingly negative point: the plot stinks like skunk biscuits especially towards the end which is bad enough to kill the whole thing.
That reminds me, I should probably give you a brief plot rundown. A villain from MiB’s past has come back looking for something, the Light of Zartha. Only K knows enough about the situation to provide an advantage for the home team. The problem is he’s been neuralized and reinstated into society. J takes Frank as his new partner and goes on hunt for K. Will K regain his memories in time to save the planet?
The revelations of the nature of the light feel tacked on to be a suprise twist without the plot development to support it. It leaves far too many unanswered questions and plot issues.
**SPOILERS** (highlight to read)
Add to the plot confusion the insinuation that K may be the father of Laura, the "light," and it makes even less sense. That would mean that the Light didn’t exist before Laura’s mother arrived on Earth, yet she came to Earth because she was fleeing Serleena who was in pursuit because she wanted the Light which she couldn’t acquire if it didn’t exist.
And what about Scrad & Charlie? Did they just decide to hang out with Jeebs from now on? They just kind of disappear into oblivion.
**END PLOT SPOILERS**
The original MiB plot wasn’t Shakespeare or anything, but at least it was solid. The flimsy plot of part 2 makes every other weak point that much worse, and, no, nothing on the DVD clears it up. Sonnenfeld himself, in the commentary, sounds cynical about it like he thinks it sucks, too but couldn’t do anything about it because of the producers. There are some other negative points I could mention, but I’ve given them enough grief – I’ll just wrap up this portion of the review.
If you’re a big MiB fan or want a good laugh, go rent it, but be prepared to scratch your head in confusion at the end.
Morality
The strong language includes several instances of mostly mild usage. Some of it is just crude such as some anatomical references. There is at least one religious slur.
Violence is mostly implied (like the sounds of an alien eating someone with a bush blocking our view of it) and goofy.
There is some sexuality. Serleena walks around in her underwear and makes comments about her breasts. There’s a quick joke or 2 about sexual positions and a gag involving male anatomy. It’s probably OK for most teens, but I recommend that sensitive parents check it out first.
Spirituality
There is something quasi-supernatural going on with the Light. It affects the weather in minor ways suggesting that it has some special ability to help it save the race it comes from. So in some ways it is essentially a savior, and to a limited extent Christ-like. Unfortunately, the allusion isn't done especially well which keeps it from having much impact.
Final Thoughts
As I said before, there's some funny comedy here, but on the whole this is the weakest "Men in Black" movie of the three (the cartoon series is also better). If you like the others check out part 2, but keep it low on your priority list.
Buying Guide
"Men In Black" part 2 is a little easier to research than the first one. There aren't nearly as many options to sort through. Even so, there are still a few things to consider here.
DVD offers 4 primary options. There are the widescreen and “full-screen” editions of the standard release, and there is the Superbit version. Lastly is a cheaper single-disc widescreen edition.
There's also a Blu-ray (no 4K edition as of this writing).
If you read the guide for the first movie you know about the packages with the other "Men In Black" movies already. I don't see a set of all 3 movies on DVD (this will probably get released eventually) although the first 2 are offered together in several packages. There is, however, a Blu set offering the trilogy which is also offered as a “gift set” with a Worm figurine.
More researched details:
The single-disc widescreen edition is for those who would rather save money than have the extras. It might have the extras included on disc 1 of the larger edition, but it might be bare-bones; I couldn't find enough details on it to say for sure. The presentation should be the same as the one I describe below.
The Superbit was DVD's answer to High Def before Blu-ray hit the shelves. You'll get higher image quality and no extras.
Blu:
The Blu offers a 1.85 widescreen ratio at 1080p with 5.1 DTS HD audio. The presentation gets very high marks from reviewers. There are a ton of extras most of which appear to be carried over from the DVD. I didn't see the DVD-ROM items mentioned, but the one you're sure to miss is the "Chubbchubbs;" I can't believe this has been omitted!
Collections:
The Blu trilogy package appears to include the standard Blu release of each movie.
The “gift set” (I hate that designation for its marketing gimmickery, but that's what it's called) offers all 3 movies plus a Worm figurine. Listings are surprisingly uninformative considering the asking price of the package, but it appears to be the Blu trilogy package with the added figurine.
Final Recommendation:
The Blu is absolutely the way to go if you want the best HD presentation available (check out the trilogy pack if you're looking to get the other movies, too). You'll get a bevvy of extras, but the omission of "The Chubbchubbs" may be worth opting for the 2-disc DVD instead. Go for the single-disc DVD only if you don't care anything about having the highest quality or any of the extras.
The Widescreen Special Edition is a 2 disc DVD package.
Video
1.85:
The image looks great. It's clean and sharp and is just great however you look at it.
Audio
5.1 Dolby:
The audio, too, is terrific quality. It's strong with a great mix and good surround sound immersion.
Packaging
The case is standard plastic.
An insert offers some production notes and a chapters list.
The interface is very amusing. It's the worms' happening pad with menu choices hanging around the room. It's animated with music and the worms hanging out.
Extras
-Chubbchubbs (5:41) This is an animated short about an alien loser who becomes a hero. It's one of the best animated short films I've ever seen. Find it in the Frank's Favorites menu.
-Commentary: Director: He rambles and repeats himself sometimes, but there’s a lot of good info. He also gets to draw on the screen which is something more commentaries should allow. If you had technical trouble with the graphics on the first MIB commentary, give this one a shot anyway; the technology is improved. I didn’t have a bit of trouble, but there's an audio only option if you prefer.
-Alien Broadcast: As you’re watching the movie an icon appears from time to time. When you select the icon a behind-the-scenes clip will play formatted to look like a news broadcast with scrolling alien text and such. I wouldn’t bother with this. All the clips are taken from disc 2 features and are much better as their own entities. It’s not worth sitting through the whole movie watching and waiting for that icon to appear.
-Frank's Favorites: These are the trailers.
-Men In Black II Trailer (2:09) Back in black.
-Men In Black II Teaser (1:59) Mostly the same as the full trailer.
-Previews: one for the MIB1 DVD, the MIB video game, and some for a few other movies.
-MIB Orb: 9 of the behind-the-scenes clips are included on an orb. You generate a play list of any number of these clips in any order, hit play, and watch the ones you’ve selected. It’s an interesting concept, but for a total of 9 short clips it’s not practical (not all of the featurettes are included here and some show up on other menus, too). It has an animated intro that is amusing but long for an bonus features access. There’s also a long credits sequence at the end - if you watch 1 clip it’s at the end of it, if you watch all 9 clips it’s at the very end. There's a help function if you have trouble.
-ADR (8:33) This one is funny and includes some good info and outtakes.
-Design in Motion (9:04) All about the production designer, it has some nice visuals.
-Rick Baker Alien Maker (9:50) An interesting look at Rick's work.
-Serleena (3:05) The idea and design of her root and female forms.
-Jeff (2:37) A detailed look at the giant worm.
-Frank (4:05) Why bring him in and how to create him.
-The Stellare Sounds of MIB (7:07) A look at creating the sound effects.
-Cosmic Symphonies Elfman in Space (11:56) A close look at the composer and his music.
-Alien Esoterica (4:27) Creating the 4 thugs and some of the other aliens.
-Creature Featurettes: Some of the Orb features are here as well, but I won't repeat them. There's a play all option. Like the Orb a lengthy credits run plays at the end of your selection whether it's 1 or all of them.
-Barry Sonnenfeld's Intergalactic Guide to Comedy (6:00) How Barry approaches comedy.
-Scrad/Charlie (2:00) How to approach the second head.
-The Worms (2:51) Going from small puppets to large ones.
-Jeebs (2:31) Some particularly great images and info in this one.
-Jarra (3:22) Mixing the CG with the actor.
-Blooper Reel (5:06) This is probably the funniest thing on the whole release with the possible exception of the "Chubbchubbs." It features many of the alternate names for the ballchinian, some great goof-ups, and the problem with autopilots.
-Multi-Angle Scene Deconstructions: Similar to the feature with the first movie the scene plays, and you swap angles to see the various layers of the scenes with the final angle being the finished product. I miss the narration that the first release had for its feature, and some of these go by so quickly you need to watch them a few times to really see all the angles.
-Opening Sequence Alternate Version (1:53) It's pretty much the same as what's in the movie alternate or not.
-Jay & Jeff (0:58) The subway ride.
-Car Chase (3:15) Serleena after the MIB.
-Jarra Fight Scene Part 1 (0:40) The reveal.
-Jarra Fight Scene Part 2 (1:02) Getting tossed around.
-Serleena Animatic Sequence (1:49) It’s really not much more than an animated storyboard with 1 or 2 CG shots.
-Alternate Ending (2:10) I'm surprised that there aren’t many deleted scenes. In fact, there’s only 1, an alternate ending. In some ways I actually like it better than what is used; it’s definitely worth a watch.
-Theatrical One-Sheets: This manual slideshow is essentially a gallery of posters but only about 4 of them.
-Filmographies: There’s no biographical info this time and the list of movies is not complete in most cases, but if you’re interested 12 members of the cast and crew are included.
-Music Video:
-Black Suits Comin Nod Ya Head – Will Smith (4:39) One of the most anticipated features would have the be the Will Smith music video. I’m going to compare it to its predecessor; I hope that doesn’t bug you. I like the music better than “Men In Black” but the lyrics aren’t as witty for the most part. The video itself is quite exceptional with stunning images, outstanding editing, special effects that rival anything in the movie itself, and lots of familiar faces.
DVD-ROM:
-Interface Game: Now for the DVD-ROM stuff. I’m not very impressed. To access most of the special features you have to play a little game first. You must navigate a ship to various planets and other vessels, dock with them, download the information, and only then can you view the features. I don’t mind the idea of flying the ship around if they want to put that in, but let me access the features without having to go through a lot of rigamarow. Anyway, once you unlock everything most of what you get is picture galleries. Oh, yeah, docking with planets gives you a little info about the alien species that live there. The next features listed are the ones unlocked here.
-Galleries: There are 10 galleries including concepts for creatures, weapons, places, various technology, and vehicles. This is where you'll access the next few features as well.
-Animatics: The Jeff, Ben, and Jarithia galleries also include short animatics.
-Special Effects Breakdown: There is also a special effects breakdown for Frank
-Behind the Scenes of the Locker World: This is exactly what it says it is.
-Web Links: The other features don’t require planet navigation. They start with the standard web links.
-Screensaver: An unimpressive screensaver (you need internet access).
-Screenplay: If you feel like reading.
-DVD-ROM help.
-MIB Crossfire Game: The last feature is a Crossfire game demo. You play Agent U running around shooting aliens. I wasn’t very impressed with gameplay or graphics, but if you want to shoot a few aliens using a carbonizer then install this thing and go. Basically you walk though MIB HQ (including Zed’s office and customs) looking for hostiles. I never could get used to the movement controls, but it’s just a demo so I won’t go into a lot of detail.