Men in Black II is a 2002 science fiction comedy film starring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones and it is a sequel to the original 1997 flick and usually cited as the worst film in the trilogy, but I strongly disagree.
Here, Agent J must bring Agent K back from retirement and get back his memory in order to save the planet from an evil alien. The plot itself is similar to the original and hits all the same beats as well. However, it was just as interesting in my opinion and although the last act was much better in the original, here everything before it was slightly more interesting to me. And the characters were more interesting and the humor is much better. Yes, the humor is the reason why this film works ultimately and is a solid flick in itself. It has many funny moments and just the humor itself was much better and much funnier than in the first Men in Black. Yes, overall, when comparing the two, they are similar and although the original is definitely more inventive and has a better second half, this one has finer first half and is definitely funnier.
Now, the characters and the performances are solid. Agent J has his moments and Will Smith is once again very good in his role, but it is Tommy Lee Jones who surprised me the most as at first he played a completely opposite person here and did it wonderfully. And again, the two characters as well as actors exhibit excellent charisma and chemistry. The highlight is their presence once again and the biggest reason to see this whole franchise.
Unfortunately, Serleena is a bad villain. Too over-the-top, way typical and just badly acted as well. She brings the whole movie down for sure. But I like the bigger inclusion of alien creatures here and those lend to much of the humor. The dog is excellent and especially the worms who are so funny at times and are very well executed.
I like the special effects and although it does the same as its predecessor in that department, it is still good with a wide variety of different alien creatures and excellent make-up. The humor is quite good and the action is passable. It is also a faster and genuinely more engaging flick this time around in my humble opinion. It is also pretty inventive when humor is concerned, but it is just not as inventive or as original when the script and the aliens are concerned which are the areas in which the original trumps it. The story in Men in Black II is also very typical and way too predictable to be enjoyed properly. I liked the character arc of K, but the rest are just underdeveloped and do not add much to the table. The sound effects are good and the score is solid. And of course the acting is phenomenal and the acting duo with its chemistry is once again the standout aspect. It is also an underappreciated flick because it is pretty similar in quality to the previous movie and definitely deserves more respect, especially when comedy is concerned as its humor is unexpectedly good.
Men in Black II is an underrated flick. It is not as inventive or as original as its predecessor, the villain is mediocre and the last act is so-so, but the humor is much better this time around with many genuinely funny moments and the acting duo is once again the highlight here. I know I am in the vast majority here, but I honestly think this movie is on par with the original.
