Men in Black II

I’d say the movie holds up a lot better all these years later because 1. it’s not right after the first MIB and my expectations weren’t super high and 2. after years of seeing Will Smith either not care enough about the movie to try or try too hard to get an Oscar it was awesome to just see him having fun and doing what he does best again. You can read more of my review here: https://imdgflicks.wordpress.com/2017/06/29/throwback-thursday-movie-review-men-in-black-ii/

I don't know that Men in Black II is really thaaat much worse than the rest of the trilogy, as most other people seem to think. I mean, in my opinion, it's actually better than the third. But these are all basically the same movie. So they can only go so right or so wrong from one to the other to the other. It's not awful (well, the faces on that poster are, my god), but it's not like... good.

_Final rating:★★½ - Had a lot that appealed to me, didn’t quite work as a whole._

Fun sequel, but not as good as the first one

Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith and Rip Torn return in this sequel about a secret government agency based in New York City that deals with extraterrestrial interactions on Earth.

Like the original 1997 movie, "Men in Black II" (2002) is amusing & thrilling in the first half, but loses its mojo a bit in the second half where some of the jokes fall flat. If you’ve seen the first film, there’s no need to see this one; but, if you want more with slight variations, then check it out. It’s the lesser movie, but it still fills the bill for when you’re in the mood for fun & thrilling popcorn entertainment.

On the female front, Linda Fiorentino is absent, replaced by Lara Flynn Boyle as the villain and Rosario Dawson as a pizzaria employee that catches Jay’s eyes. Meanwhile, the stunning Paige Brooks appears in a couple of small scenes.

The next two sequels are: Men in Black 3” (2012) and “Men in Black: International” (2019); the latter is the only entry in the series (so far) without Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith.

The film runs 1 hour, 28 minutes, and was shot in New York City & surrounding area (e.g. Fire Island for the Post Office scene), as well as Los Angeles/Culver City/Pasadena.

GRADE: B-/C+