Today’s Prayer Focus
MOVIE REVIEW
Men in Black II
MPA Rating:
for sci-fi action violence and some provocative humor.
for sci-fi action violence and some provocative humor.
Reviewed by: Hillari Hunter
CONTRIBUTOR
| Moral Rating: | Average |
| Moviemaking Quality: |
|
| Primary Audience: | Teens Adults |
| Genre: | Sci-Fi Action Comedy Sequel |
| Length: | 1 hr. 34 min. |
| Year of Release: | 2002 |
| USA Release: |
| Featuring | Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, Lara Flynn Boyle, Johnny Knoxville, Michael Jackson |
| Director |
Barry Sonnenfeld |
| Producer | Walter F Parkes, Laurie MacDonald |
| Distributor |
In “Men in Black II”, the five-years-later sequel to the original “Men in Black,” Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones are back as agents “J” and “K” working to save the world from evil intents of extraterrestrials. In this sequel, a serpentine villainess come to Earth looking for a powerful light that spells destruction for any planet who possesses it. Agent J (Smith) is sent to get his former partner Agent K (Jones), who had been returned to normal life five years ago. Of course, K’s memory of his crime fighting past had been erased, but it must be restored in time to avert major disaster. There is a witness (Rosario Dawson, “Josie and the Pussycats”) to one of the villainess’ crimes, but J doesn’t erase her memory because of his growing affection for her, so she’s brought along for the ride.
Have you ever watched a movie where it is obvious that the actors are saying dialogue that is supposed to be funny, but you’re not laughing? The original “Men In Black” worked because of the sandpaper relationship between Agents J and K, but that seems to have been watered down is this latest version since more emphasis is put on the special effects. The few amusing moments are provided by Frank, the talking dog fans from the original “MIB” will be familiar with. Several holes in the plot cause the movie to plod along, and while the movie is shorter in length (1 hour 34 minutes), that doesn’t make it any better.
There is mild profanity used by some of the characters, including incidents of sexual references and innuendo (Kids-in-Mind reports “3 scatological terms, 9 anatomical terms, 18 mild obscenities, 1 religious exclamation…”) The alien villainess (Laura Flynn Boyle, “The Practice”) spends most of the movie scantily clad. Her character is also used in a joke that’s an unfunny reference to anorexia and bulimia. One character makes a reference to astrology.
The violence is not as icky or scary as in the prior film, but there are a lot of bullets flying and several hand-to-hand battles. Overall, not recommended.
Positive
Positive—A bit wild “alien” movie, but OK for older teens who like action-packed movies with a humorous twist. The basic values of honor and sacrifice for the benefit of others leave a generally positive overall impression.
[Better than Average / 3]
[Better than Average / 3]
Sue Harrison, age 53
Neutral
Neutral—This was a good movie, lots of laughs and scene-stealing from Frank the wisecracking pug. I haven’t seen Lara Flynn Boyle as a baddie before and she’s good in her character but I have a big problem with the provocative clothing she wears in the film. There was profanity, some sexual innuendo, brief nudity, but no actual sex scenes, which was good. The humor in the film outweighs the bad stuff in the movie, but, like most sequels, the first film is always better than its successor.
[Average / 4]
[Average / 4]
Shannon, age 20
Neutral—MIIB was made of the same caliber as the first MIB movie. It is very humorous, very satirical, and completely crazy! The dramatic elements work well within the film. Smith and Jones again make for a good team. As a side note of humor, the evil alien, in her original form, reminded me of “The Rumor Weed” from Veggie Tales: Larry Boy and the Rumor Weed! Unfortunately, as with a lot of sequels, the original movie was better, but I still found it to be enjoyable. Christian offense-wise, there’s the typical language scattered about, the evil alien takes on the human form of a woman she sees in a Victoria Secret ad to include what the woman is modeling, some of the sight gags are on the crude side, and the overall worldview is—well—worldly. With some things presented (i.e. the idea of multiverses), it helps to keep in mind that the movie is satirical. On the positive side, there is no sex nor even passionate kissing. Loyalty and heroism of the heart are brought forth…
[Average / 3½]
[Average / 3½]
Deanna Marquart, age 31
Negative
Negative—Not fit for human consumption—especially young humans! I enjoyed the first MIB movie; it had a plot, character development and humor. This one had lots of crudity, violence, poor acting and sexual suggestiveness. My 17-year-old son saw this with me and said he was disappointed that the whole film seemed to be geared towards sensuality and stupidity. Save your money and don’t clutter your mind with this trash.
[Average / 1½]
[Average / 1½]
Vicki, age 40
Negative—This was the most brainless movie I’ve sat through. There was some crude humor, like an alien with a mans private parts on his chin. Or the locker aliens, one who looks like a Saint gets up and preaches… afterwards they all run into a XXX club. I found these parts disgusting for a Christian to watch. We expected it to be funny, although the only funny parts were all blown cuz they were in the commercials advertising this movie. Overall, I left completely unsatisfied, and thought it to be a waste of money. I wouldn’t recommend seeing this one in the theater.
[Average / 1]
[Average / 1]
Heather, age 20
Negative—My husband and I were quite disappointed in this sequel to “Men In Black.” We liked the first one so much, we bought it on DVD, and have watched it many times, especially my husband! I think it is extremely sad how the directors of today’s movies believe that it is necessary to resort to offensive sexual overtones in their films. What “humor” was in this film was overshaded by one big “commercial” for “Victoria’s Secret” and an “advertisement” for breast implants! We were saddened to see how many very young children were in the theatre to see this film. This is one movie we won’t bother to see again, and we are definitely not purchasing the DVD! Too bad, it could have been so good, without the garbage!
[Average / 2]
[Average / 2]
Sandy, age 46
Negative—Sadly, there just isn’t enough of this movie on which to base a decision. Its running time, which I found listed as 89 minutes, never really gets going, a lot like the first one. And we can all guess exactly how the film will be split. 1st act- Will Smith defeats an alien that has nothing to do do w/ anything, the villain introduced. 2nd act—Finding Tommy Lee Jones, enter comedy bits, nothing really happens. 3rd act—Ineffective climax that doesn’t really satisfy the viewers. That’s pretty much the film in a nutshell. Now, while the film isn’t very good, it does have some really funny little moments: For instance, the bit at the beginning when Lara Flynn Boyle eats, then spits up the attacker is an obvious in-joke that is funny because everybody already says that LFB suffers from Bulimia! And the creatures found inside the locker are hilarious, as are the worm-things. And there is one sight-gag that I’d guess the majority of viewers didn’t catch…
[Better than Average / 2½]
[Better than Average / 2½]
Jason Eaken, age 18
Negative—If you liked the first MIB, you may like this… or you may not! The script was weak playing off special effects more than a plot. The “laugh at itself” sense of the first film is absent from this one. From a Christian perspective, Lauren Flynn Boyle chest is in view throughout the entire movie and there is a shot of her walking away in lingerie near the beginning that could be offensive. The language is moderate for this genre and the violence is “sci-fi” in that most of it takes place against computer generated monsters. I would recommend avoiding this movie not because it was offensive, but because it was bad. If you must see it, wait for the video (it will be there soon!)
[Average / 2½]
[Average / 2½]
J. R., age 30
Negative—My wife and I just saw MEN IN BLACK II. I should have known what I was getting myself into. Tommy Lee Jones lives up to his name continually which is nothing. In the beginning of the movie the alien transforms itself into a woman in a magazine (Victoria Secrets AD). This movie has nothing to do with Christian beliefs at all. The language is very offensive. The acting was very slap-stick humor with a aggressive attitude toward everything. In Matthew 12:36,37 says “But I tell you every careless word that people speak, they shall give an account for it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will condemned.” If you noticed these words are in red which means JESUS spoke them. I have seen many great Christian films (The Champion—Carman) which used no language and had the hard hitting of Rocky. So, in conclusion put your money back in your pocket and ask the LORD JESUS for guidance before seeing this movie.
[Extremely Offensive / 2]
[Extremely Offensive / 2]
A. L. Osterholt, age 35
Movie Critics
…comes off as moderately entertaining, but that’s about it…
ScreenIt!
…crowded with sight gags, some highly sexual… The worldview here is clearly eclectic. There is a “God bless you,” a reference to the occult practice of astrology, and a reference to multiverses, all treated with irreverence. In addition to this, there are more than 25 obscenities and profanities…
Dr. Ted Baehr, Movieguide
Comments from young people
Negative—That was the stupidest movie I have seen in a long time. I don’t know what else to say. It was so boring and predictable that I almost walked out early. Dumb and Dumber is my favorite movie so when I think something’s stupid it really is. The parts that were supposed to be funny weren’t. Will Smith isn’t as cool or funny as he thinks he is. I can’t believe I wasted my money on this movie.
[Average / 1½]
[Average / 1½]
Matt, age 16
Positive—This movie was overall good, but there were some down points. There are about 15 uses of d**n and h**l, and 2 of b***h. The special effects in the movie were great! The villains body is shown a lot. The first one was way better. If you have to see a movie go see spider man.
[Average / 1½]
[Average / 1½]
Brandon, age 13
Positive—This is a good pop-corn flick if you just want some mild entertainment. Nothing spectacular, and certainly not as original as the first, but there is enough action and cheap thrills to give you an enjoyable time. There was some language in it, and the villain was showing some skin, but other than that its a good movie which I recommend to anyone over the age of 12. Not the best of the year, but certainly not the worst.
[Average / 3]
[Average / 3]
Jessica, age 15
Negative—DON’T waste your money and time on this! I left the movie theatre to use the restroom just because I needed a break from the boring, predictable, and just plain retarded plot of this movie. The raunchy jokes (and the fact that one of the main characters took on the form and dress of an underwear supermodel) were about the only points for which this film hoped to pack in the money. Plot: sub-par. Humor: not there. Acting: high school play level. Don’t bother watching this loser.
[Average / 1½]
[Average / 1½]
Joe G., age 15
Negative—Save your money. This movie had great acting and dazzling effects. Plot was somewhat sketchy. The original Men in Black was not meant for a sequel.
[Average / 3½]
[Average / 3½]
Cameron Gabriel, age 11
Positive—An entertaining popcorn flick for teenagers. The special effects and creative gadgets of this film is what makes it intriguing for the viewers. The whole concept of aliens living among us is spectacular, and MIB2 portrays this “alternate reality” superbly. It rides along the same road of the previous MIB, with the same silly storyline and comedic antics. Will Smith portrays his character quite nicely. However, the ending was rather surprising but annoyingly abrupt and far fetched. Be cautioned about quite a bit of sexual innuendo, a bit of gruesome images, and perhaps a couple of offensive smatterings and Flynn Boyle’s indecent clothing. Definitely NOT perfect in the Christian arena, but a reasonably entertaining experience for mature viewers.
[Average / 3½]
[Average / 3½]
Nadia K, age 17
Positive—This movie was extremely funny! I thought it was pretty good. I went with about 5 other friends. There is some language, but it isn’t too bad. That’s just about it. I would recommend to people ages 10 and above.
[Better than Average / 4]
[Better than Average / 4]
Nadia, age 14
Neutral—I was a bit disappointed because most of the funny parts were given away in the trailers, so I knew that a punch line was coming for almost all of them. There also seemed to be more sexual references then in the first one.
[Average / 3]
[Average / 3]
bob, age 17
Positive—Men in Black II was very funny as Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones fight aliens once again. Smith as “Jay” is forced to bring Jones as “Kay” out of retirement in order to fight the terrible aliens trying to recover lost property on Earth. It isn’t world domination these particular aliens are after, it’s a special light… one that only Kay has information. As the story unfolds, you’ll see it follows the first MMIB very thoroughly. I found the movie very entertaining although not as action packed as I had hoped. It had plenty of puns and laughs, but there was no thrills for me at least. I recommend this movie if aliens and laughter is what your after, but it’s not for action seekers!
[Better than Average / 3½]
[Better than Average / 3½]
Tara Smith, age 16
Neutral—This movie honestly was poor. I liked it because it stayed true to the MIB Theme, but it was like Rush Hour 2, took jokes from the first and tried, (emphasis on TRIED) to make them funnier. I think it is a good rental, but that’s it. I liked it, but it wasn’t the greatest film ever made.
[Better than Average / 4½]
[Better than Average / 4½]
D-Mac, age 15
Positive—I thought it is one of the best sci-fi/comedy movies in a long time! I really enjoyed the movie. I don’t recommend little kids under age 10 or 11 (somewhere between) seeing the movie. The violence is cartoonish. If you like MIB you will definitely like this one. It was well done and in my opinion was better than the first. I think the first MIB had a slightly flat plot. But this one was well done. Definitely worth your money.
[Better than Average / 4½]
[Better than Average / 4½]
Bryan Ford, age 14
Positive—This was a really good movie, I thought… I’ve always loved MIB, (possibly because I relate so well)… there were a few objectionable parts, but nothing compared to most. Little kids might not like it…
[Better than Average / 4]
[Better than Average / 4]
Brittany, age 13
Positive—I think this movie was very funny and at the same time it makes you think. I realy liked it except for in the beginning when she went into the body of a super model and then she ate a man. It was so so gross, but other than that the movie was the best and at the end… [Good / 4½]
sheeva orlando, age 12
Positive—It was a very good movie. Not extremely good for a Christian. It had good acting. Not good language. The talking dog was funny. Not good movie for children under 6. Good action. After all that it was a great movie.
[Good / 4½]
[Good / 4½]
Matthew Shaw, age 6
My Ratings: [Better than Average / 4]