Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #10681 in DVD
• Released on: 2003-01-27
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Formats: PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: Dutch, English
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 84 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
An exercise in by-numbers sequel-craft, Men in Black II reheats the mix that made a hit of Men in Black but leaves the ingredients in the oven a little too long. Returning director Barry Sonnenfeld throws all the pieces up in the air and has them come down more or less in the same way. An evil alien takes the form of lingerie model Lara Flynn Boyle, when it isn't a large ball of snakes, and searches the Earth for a mysterious whatsit that can turn the tide of a galactic war. The only person who knows the current whereabouts of the Light of Zartha is Agent Kay (Tommy Lee Jones), whose memory was wiped at the end of the first film. Agent Jay (Will Smith) has to recruit his old mentor away from his new job at the post office--where he amusingly deals with spilled cups of coffee in exactly the way he used to handle interstellar crises--then proceeds to run around until he remembers how the plot works.

It's the sort of sequel that assumes walk-on-gag characters, who got a laugh last time round, deserve to be brought back and given bigger roles, which means the talking dog and cigarette-fiend worms show up again and wear out their welcome. Smith, a bigger star now than he was in MiB, unhappily has to play straight leading man rather than whacky sidekick, and his end credits rapping hasn't improved either. Its acceptable in-flight entertainment (and miles better than the Smith-Sonnenfeld Wild Wild West), but nothing here hasn't been done before and better. --Kim Newman

On the DVD: Men in Black II boasts a 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer that positively jumps out of the screen, while the Dolby Digital soundtrack hums with alien activity and Danny Elfman's classic spy film-inspired score. Disc 1 contains the film, "Frank's Favourites" (a selection of trailers for both films and videogames), a commentary from director Barry Sonnenfeld and "Alien Broadcast" (an in-movie feature that allows you to stop the film and watch a making-of feature connected with that scene). Disc 2 is packed full with a pick and mix of featurettes, detailing everything from the distinctive aliens to sound and audio looping. There is also an expansive outtake reel (most of which consists of Will Smith cracking up and Tommy Lee Jones getting annoyed), a somewhat highbrow but nonetheless entertaining documentary about Barry Sonnenfeld's comedy style, plus multi-angle scene deconstructions such as the subway worm and car chase. An alternative ending and Will Smith's music video and filmographies complete this expansive special edition. --Kristen Bowditch

Special Features

1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen

Dolby Digital 5.1

Subtitles: Dutch, English (Hard of Hearing)

Disc 1:

Director Barry Sonnenfeld's Commentary

Alien Broadcast

Alien Escape PS2 Game Promo

The Chubb Chubbs' Short Film

Men in Black Training Video

Theatrical Trailers

Disc 2:

Alternative Ending

Blooper Reel

Exclusive Featurettes --

Take 2: Looping MIB II

Animatics Montage: Serleena Arrives

Rick Baker: Alien Maker

Cosmic Symphonies: Elfman in Space

Design in Motion: The Look of MIB II

Squish, Splash, Sploosh: The Stellar Sounds of MIB II

Creature Featurettes --

Alien Esoterica

Frank the Pug - Jarra - Jeebs - Jeff the Worm - Scrad/Charlie - Serleena - The Worm Guys

Barry Sonnenfeld's Intergalactic Guide to Comedy

Will Smith "Black Suits Comin' (Nod Ya Head)" Music Video

Five Multi-Angle Scene Deconstructions

Theatrical One-Sheets Photo Gallery

Filmographies

DVD-ROM features: MIIB Crossfire Intergalactic Game Demo, Screen Saver, Concept Designs, MIIB Script Weblinks

Synopsis
Reuniting director Barry Sonnenfeld with most of the original film's cast, MEN IN BLACK II picks up with alien-monitoring secret agent Jay (Will Smith) in a rut. Weary of the isolated life of an MIB operative, Jay continually fires new partners until MIB director Zed (Rip Torn) teams him up with the talkative pug Frank (voiced by Tim Blaney). Together they investigate an "alien-on-alien" murder witnessed by the lovely Rita (Rosario Dawson), who Jay immediately falls for. The case eventually leads Jay and Frank to track down agent Kay (Tommy Lee Jones), who now works at a rural post office, completely unaware of his former life. Unfortunately, it's what Kay can't remember that may save the world from destruction at the hands of the shape-shifting alien Serleena (Lara Flynn Boyle). As Jay attempts to jog the memory of the reluctant Kay, Serleena takes over MIB headquarters, building up to a big New York City showdown.
A fast-paced follow-up to the 1997 sci-fi comedy, MEN IN BLACK II sticks to its guns, offering up more action, aliens, and intergalactic weirdness. This time around Smith and characters such as Frank and the wisecracking worms are the focus, although Jones makes the most out of his screen time with his deadpan persona thoroughly intact. And, as with the first movie, MIB II features plenty of enjoyable scenes, including an underground romp involving a subway-sized alien and Frank the Dog's head-out-of-the-car-window rendition of "I Will Survive."

Customer Reviews

A Huge Missed Opportunity
After the excellent first film, expectations were high for this sequel (perhaps a little too high). After the BIG money made by the original, the studio was keen to make another : the problem being that the initial budget would be huge. Will Smith & Tommy Lee Jones are both expensive, Barry Sonnenfeld and Steven Spielberg would be looking for a back-end deal, with all that money on the table it would be difficult to make the picture profitable. But they eventually all cut back end deals, and the picture was made.

Or perhaps 'rushed' is a better word. Compared to the tight scripting of the original, the screenplay is messy and hole-ridden, with the old gambit of bit part players brought back from the original on the assumption that they will get bigger laughs this time round (i.e. the talking dog). Will Smith seems uncomfortable in the 'straight' role this time, and the female lead adds very little value (to be fair this is the fault of the script). Tommy Lee Jones does his job well, but seems to be on autopilot (to be fair the tight dialogue of the first film is all but gone here). As the villain of the piece Lara Flynn Boyle is very nice to look at (kudos to Jack Nicholson!) - cf. the completely gratuitous underwear scene at the beginning - but is ultimately forgettable.

Most strangely, the effects could have used more work : - Rick Baker does a great job with the puppets as always, but the CGI is sometimes a little poor compared to todays standards. The two-headed character, the tentacles, and the worm all could have been better.

Given the huge arena in which to play set up by the first film, and the talent attached to the project, this could have been so much more.

Now there are good points to this film (and it is not mediocre by any means), but, compared to the first film, it ultimately rates a disappointment. Lets hope that, in the unlikely event they make another, they recapture the spirit of the first. If it had been a film in it's own right, I might have given it 3 stars, but comparing it to the first is inevitable, and so 2 stars is sadly the ending score.

An ok follow up!
As stated above, this movie is "OK" as a follow up to the first movie. I felt that they spent way too much time showing Will Smith flashing people and telling them how to change their lives. I also feel that they could've done a better job with the script and gotten at least an hour and a half out of this story. Overall a good movie, I just don't feel that it lives up to the wait from the last one or all the hyped up advertising. {ssintrepid}

FUNNY AND IRREVERENT...
A funny and enjoyable sequel, MiB 2 is a film to be taken at face value. What you see is what you get. There are a lot of sight gags and jokes, most of which are funny. This is a simple, upbeat movie with some great special effects.

The premise of the film is simple. In 1978, Laranna, Queen of the Universe, landed on this planet, wanting to leave the Light of Zartha here on Earth, The villainous and totally evil, shape changing alien, Serleena, vowed to destroy any planet that would give safe harbor to the Light of Zartha. Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) was then the agent in charge of the operation that was to ensure that Queen Laranna would depart Earth, taking the Light of Zartha with her, with Serleena in hot pursuit, thus saving the Earth from destruction.

Enter present day Earth, MiB Agent J (Will Smith), having come into his own since the retirement of his mentor and former partner, Agent K, has neuralized yet another unsatisfactory partner, Agent T (Patrick Warburton). Summoned to MiB headquarters, J meets with the head honcho for MiB, Zed (Rip Torn), and discovers that his new partner is Frank the Pug. Together they are to investigate an unusual occurrence and debrief Rita (Rosario Dawson), the witness. He does so and discovers not only love at first sight when he meets Rita, but also that Serleena (in the form of Lara Flynn Boyle) is back on Earth, once more searching for the Light of Zartha and vowing not to leave Earth without it. Working with a pretty stupid, two headed alien, Scard and Charlie, hilariously played by Johnny Knoxville, Serleena is on the prowl. She must not, however, get her mitts on the Light of Zartha, or all is lost.

It turns out that Agent K must be brought back from the obscurity of Maine, where he is the postmaster, and de-neuralized, as it is he who carries with him the secret of what really happened to the Light of Zartha. Only Agents K and J, working together again, can stop Serleena from getting the Light of Zartha. In the intervening years since they last worked together, Agent J has matured, while Agent K finds himself flummoxed by the technological advances that the MiB have made in the years during his absence. Together again, Agents K and J are just as funny as they were the first time around, and the aliens are better than ever. The locker colony of miniature aliens that worship Agent K is my own personal favorite, though the swinging worm guys, who have their own stereotypic bachelor pad, give them a run for their money in the funny department.

The entire cast gives terrific performances. Look for a lot of fast paced action, as well as funny, though sometimes sophomoric, repartee, a lot of sight gags, wonderful alien creatures courtesy of the magic of special effects, and cameo appearances by Peter Graves and Michael Jackson. If you are willing to sit back, kick off your shoes, and take the film at face value, you will, undoubtedly, enjoy MiB 2.