MEN IN BLACK 2

REVIEWED BY APRIL WROBLEWSKI

Our rating: 3 out of 5

Because of: sexual content, innuendo, language

Rated:

Hollywood has a great love for creating sequels to successful movies. As a rule, the sequels rarely live up to the originals. Usually the reason the original movies did so well is because the storyline was fresh and  new. But by the time the sequel comes around the concept is not so new and all they are really doing is rehashing the original story to make more money. 

This is exactly the problem with Men in Black II. The storyline that suggests aliens live all around us (we just don't know it!) lacks the originality of the first one; to put it plainly, it's just old. The plot is not incredibly shocking or poignant, but really, can you expect that from Men in Black? It is your same 'the world is threatened by aliens and we are all going to die unless the Men in Black save us. this time the earth is under attack by a female alien who walks around in Victoria's Secret lingerie throughout the film. She wants something powerful here on the planet -- no, not more underwear, but something else -- and she will stop at nothing to get it. The secret organization, the Men in Black, monitor aliens here on earth so regular folks can go about with their daily lives without knowing there are aliens all about them. The Men in Black find out about this female alien's attempts to hurt our planet and they endeavor to do something about it. 

They come to realize that this villain wants something that only retired Agent K knows where it's hidden... or rather knew where it was hidden. Now retired, he would have had his memory modified so that he would forget that he even worked for the Men in Black, much less know that there is an organization by that name. They realize that the only way they can stop this alien is to bring back Agent K. Agent J, his former partner, is assigned to find him and help him remember everything... in time to save mankind.

How original, right? The plot in this movie borders on the ridiculous and you have to let yourself swallow a lot. While I was surprised at the way is ended, the surprise I felt was also mixed with incredulity at the corniness of it. Did the filmmakers really think that was a good ending? I wanted to laugh, instead of the seriousness it was no doubt supposed to invoke. But I could forgive all of this, if I were to realize it is supposed to be a silly, brainless movie that you can watch and have a few good laughs, forget your  cares and enjoy yourself. But the problem is, I didn't enjoy myself. I could hardly wait for the movie to end -- there was not one thing in the movie that was enjoyable. Humor, which was supposed to make up a major substance of the movie, fell flat. It was lacking. It just wasn't humorous. There were a few moments when I did crack a smile, but those were few and far between. Most of the humor was crude and offensive. I was left disgusted by all of it. The aliens are (there is no other word for it) ugly creatures. There are scenes when we see them get blown up and shot at, plus a few frightening moments. Nothing is extremely violent though, it was more a cartoon-like  violence than anything else.

As I mentioned earlier, there is a female alien disguised as a woman, who in turn wears scanty clothing straight out of your local Victoria's Secret catalogue. I was cringing in my seat whenever she was on the screen. There's also sexual innuendo and dialogue, profanity, and gore. Aliens are dispatched by being blown up, chewed up, spit out, and flung through walls. Our evil temptress can also turn violent at the drop of a hat and brutalizes a few people in battle. To sum it all up, this movie is not worth your time or money and I would suggest for you to put both to better use.