I had eagerly awaited the 2 disk DVD release of Men in Black 2 for the past two months, ever since I had heard of its imminent parole date. As a huge fan of the original I had naturally pre-ordered my own copy of part 2 and after viewing both disks, here is my summery:
\\\\\\ PLOT //////
Men in Black 2 picks up 5 years after the first one ended, agent Jay (Will Smith – Men in Black, Independence day, Ali) is having a few minor problems finding a partner fit to replace agent Kay (Tommy Lee Jones – Men in Black, Volcano, The fugitive) who was deneuralyzed (memory erased) and given a new life as a postal worker at the end of the first film. When a strange and attractive female alien lands on earth, agent Jay is forced to reneuralyze Agent Kay to tackle the problem.
This has a very similar story to Men in Black 1, our two agents must stop an evil alien who has come to earth to find a super powerful weapon called the light of zartha. As in the first film, not finding the weapon in time will mean the end of planet earth, as the weapon must be in a certain place at a certain time or boom!
Instead of a giant cockroach in a Vincent D’onofrio suit this time around, the nasty alien is a mass of snakes shaped just like Lara Flynn Boyle and answering to the name of Serleena. Along the way, our handsome heroes must encounter more monsters and aliens (including a 300ft worm called Jeff who lives in the underground train network). There is more of Tony Shalhoub’s gurning alien pawnbroker, Jeebs, more of Frank the talking Pug dog, more explosions, more flying cars and more big shiny guns.
\\\\\\ INFORMATION OVERVIEW //////
Once
again Barry Sonnenfeld directs the film as he did in the first, he tries to deliver the same fabulous blend of humour, drama, gadgets, monsters and mayhem, as so precariously evident in the first Men in Black film. For me though, it just didn’t work as well the second time around, it seemed as though MIB2 had siphoned the intelligence and originality from its predecessor and replaced it with shameful product placement (think Ebay and Sony Playstation) and self referential cameos from the likes of Michael Jackson of all people.
MIB2 has been globally panned by the movie critics which I think is unjust, the film still has plenty going for it and there is a main character role for Frank the Pug dog. This is definitely a huge plus over the first film as Frank brings some genuine hilarity and giggle moments to the proceedings. The special effects are again fantastic and make the film look authentic and believable, Jeff the giant worm is simply awesome if a little on the dopey side. All the same ingredients from the first film are here in abundance, they are just mixed the same and therefore seem a little run of the mill and seen it all beforeish.
One of the main reasons that MIB2 was panned by the critics was for not having as much humour as the first one. This is nonsense, I actually think this is one area where the sequel rises above MIB1, it sure is one hell of a funny movie if nothing else. The performances are as impeccable as ever, Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith are perfectly cast as the mismatched men in black and Rip Torn returns strongly as their boss agent Zed.
One of the downfalls of this film is Serleena, in my opinion, Lara Flyn Boyle is not a terrific actress and compared to the wonderful Vincent D’onofrio (who played the baddie in MIB1) she simply doesn’t compare. She lacks the menace and the overall weirdness that D’onofrio brought to the first film and this brings the whole movie down. Fans of Jackass TV will be pleased to see Johnny Knoxville playing the strange two headed sidekick of Serleena though, he is weird in real life so naturally he brings some class to the movie’s lacklustre bad guy image. Despite the critics slating the film on its cinema release, this didn’t stop it being an instant smash hit, which would have been a shame had it not have been. MIB2 is no classic by a long shot and it isn’t as cool, original and stylish as the first one but it isn’t as bad as some of the critics would have you believe, all in all it is still a great nights entertainment.
\\\\\\ DVD EXTRAS //////
This is where this package gets really good, the extra features are nothing short of comprehensive and wide ranging on this region 2 set. The first disk not only has the movie itself on there, but there is the movie commentary from Barry Sonnenfeld and a bunch of film and game advertisements under the ‘Franks favourites’ section.
Then we have a weird little addition called ‘Alien Broadcast’ which is a nifty feature that allows you to watch the film and ultimately stop the movie at any point and watch how that particular part was made. If you’re watching a specific alien for example and you think ‘I wonder how they made that’ then you can simply pause the movie and see, before returning to the very same point and continue watching the film. I found this to be great fun and it is the first time I have seen this feature on any DVD.
On disk 2 we are given a plethora of goodies to tantalise out brain cells, there are endless documentaries about the making of and behind the scenes footage of Men in Black 2. If you are into this kind of thing then this is a great little treat, which will give hours of joyful viewing.
You can enter a multi angle scene deconstruction suite where you can view the film from different camera angles.
Then there is a set of short documentaries chronicling the origins of each creature within the film, another great little time filler. In this section there is also a bonus extra, ‘Barry Sonnenfeld’s intergalactic guide to comedy’ this is basically a set of interviews with the cast and crew regarding the movies comedy element which is quite funny to watch.
There is also an alternative ending to the film, which I personally think is better than the chosen one. Without spoiling it, I think the alternative ending is far more amusing and gives you one last laugh before the film ends.
If this isn’t enough then there is the full video of the theme tune to the film, Will Smith – Nod ya head (black suits coming) which is a cool rap song that made no 3 in our UK top 40 charts and there is a section for the cast and crew filmographies which tell you what films they have starred in or helped to make. So, even if you didn’t much like the film then there is plenty to see and do in regards to the extra features which can span over many hours.
\\\\\\ MY OVERALL OPINION //////
I'd have to say that the actual film is quite a way off of the first movie in terms of plotline and characterisation but as I said earlier, it is an enjoyable romp none the less, even if it is a tad short at 88 minutes. The picture quality and sound on both disks is impeccable, which shows that the actual quality of the DVD set is top notch. The DVD extras are simply blinding and gave me quite a few hours worth of fun after the movie had finished, to be honest, there are still plenty of those documentaries that I am going to try and watch. There are simply too many of them to watch all in one go, so I picked out a few that sounded decent and watched those, they were great. As for the movie itself, I’d give MIB2 three stars but coupled together with the wonderful extras disk, I’d boost it up to four stars as there is something for everyone on here.
Men in Black 2 is out for rental on DVD and Video now or alternatively it is out for sale from most good DVD and Video stockists such as HMV, Virgin Megastores, WH Smith’s or internet shopping sites such as Amazon and Britannia. The Video will set you back around £14.99 and the 2 disk DVD £24.99.
\\\\\\ RELATED LINKS //////
Shopping sites where Men in Black 2 is on sale
http://www.amazon.co.uk
http://www.britanniavideo.co.uk
http://www.dvd.co.uk
Columbia Tri-Star home entertainment
http://www.cthe.co.uk
Play and download the Men in Black ‘Crossfire’ game
Production Year: 2004 - Science Fiction - Director: Alex Proyas - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring: Will Smith, Bridget Moynahan, Bruce Greenwood, James Cromwell, Chi McBride, Alan Tudyk
Production Year: 2006 - Science Fiction - Director: James Hawes - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring: Noel Clarke, Camille Coduri, Penelope Wilton, David Tennant, Billie Piper
Production Year: 2007 - Science Fiction - Director: Francis Lawrence - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Alice Braga, Charlie Tahan, Dash Mihok, Will Smith, Salli Richardson, Willow Smith
i have yet to see the no2 but i always think that the second films are never as good as the first
glitterprincess 05.02.2003 11:10
I wasn't as impressed with this as I was the first one, I thought the talking dog had the best bits to be honest! But at least the extras on the DVD make up for it. Jami xx
angeelu 02.02.2003 21:28
I loved the film whne I saw it at the cinema, so was interested to read about the extra features on the DVD - the Alien Broadcast sounds good.
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![Men In Black II [DVD] [2002]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78524951.jpg "Men In Black II [DVD] [2002]")
Jan 29th, 2003
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