MEN IN BLACK II
"Some sequels continue a story. Others repeat it. 'Men in Black II'
creates a new threat for the MIB, but recycles the same premise, which
is that mankind can defeat an alien invasion by assigning agents in
Ray-Bans to shoot them into goo...The special effects are good, but
often pointless. As the movie throws strange aliens at us, we aren't
much moved--more like mildly interested." --Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
"Some motion pictures portray ultimate passion; others create ultimate
thrills. 'Men in Black II' achieves ultimate insignificance--it's
the sci-fi comedy spectacle as Whiffle-Ball epic...it's like the cantina
scene in 'Star Wars' stretched over an entire movie." --Owen Gleiberman,
Entertainment Weekly
"Like most other sequels, 'Men in Black II' is something of a knockoff,
but then again, the original installment was pretty much a knockoff,
too...The hang-loose grodiness of these films has its charms, and
the Ray-Banned team of Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, at its best,
is good vaudeville." Peter Rainer, New York
"...pretty much a disaster--repetitive beyond belief, and so busily
inconsequential that it neuralizes your brain and leaves you with
nothing to respond to...mostly dull physical comedy and special effects
that are no longer fresh. One scene follows another with little variation;
the movie is actually boring--one fights to stay awake." --David Denby,
The New Yorker
"...as fizzy as the first, but not quite as refreshing...This is a
picture that demands nothing of its audience, and not much more from
its stars... Mr. Smith, who has recently broadened his range with
his impressive performance in Michael Mann's 'Ali,' slides back into
a more familiar mix of bravado and silliness. Mr. Jones's line readings
are beyond deadpan; each one is delivered as though he had just been
awakened from a nap." -- A.O. Scott, The New York Times
"'Men in Black II' is, for all practical purposes, a feature-length
cartoon...This good-naturedly cornball sequel revels in its own mythology...Somewhat
under 90 minutes, 'Men in Black II' feels even shorter, thanks to
the general absence of narrative ballast and a few hyperkinetic passages..."
-- J. Hoberman, The Village Voice
"There are just enough fresh, funny gags and witty throwaways to keep
the 88-minute 'MIB2' percolating...doesn't risk much, but it fulfills
its end of the bargain: a good time will be had by almost all." --David
Ansen, Newsweek
"A good-faith attempt has been made to duplicate the original elements,
but the mix is wrong, bearings have been lost, the balance is off.
It was attitude that made 'Men in Black' special, a particular kind
of cool insouciance that has proved as impossible to duplicate as
it was irresistible to experience." --Kenneth Turan, The Los Angeles
Times
"The appeal of the original, a true cultural phenomenon, was the cool,
odd-couple chemistry between Smith and Tommy Lee Jones...Thankfully,
the chemistry is still there, but the premise is no longer fresh,
the jokes are broader--and the special effects are much more elaborate
..." --Lou Lumenick, The New York Post
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