bnorthup
07-03-2002, 04:45 AM
Men in Black II (PG-13)
At the Gaslight
Dad: 2 stars
Daughter: 3 stars
Much ado about worms
By Brent & Katherine Northup
The original “Men In Black” caught most of us by surprise. It was a campy, cynical sci-fi movie whose special effects were, as often as not, parodies of modern moviemaking. In addition, there was a certain style – part space Western, part horror flick, part Saturday Night Live – which kept moviegoers off balance and laughing.
Something’s gone wrong on the way to the sequel. Even though Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith and director Barry Sonnenfeld are all back, the 88-minute sequel just never adds up to complete movie. Admittedly, it moves fast enough and ends quickly enough to keep us from looking at our watch, but, as one avid local moviegoer said, “it doesn’t have much that’s new.”
The story finds the secret police force back in action protecting the world from extra-terrestrials. A villainous named Serleena arrives on earth in pursuit of “the light.” The MiB team joins in the pursuit, but to save the world rather than to gain power over it.
Along side this thin plot, is a romance between Will Smith and waitress he meets at a pizza parlor where the drama begins. There’s some warmth in Rosario Dawson’s performance, a quality found virtually nowhere else in MiBII.
I’m not sure how fans will respond. Like all sequels, all the elements are back in place, guaranteeing some sense of payoff for the loyal. It moves fast. It has dozens of throwaway jokes, including a cameo by Michael Jackson. And it’s short. Does that add up to enough? I’m not sure.
Daughter Katherine was with me, and perhaps she’ll be the more typical audience – she was anticipating the movie, eager to see it. And her verdict?
“I liked it,” she began. “It wasn’t the most intellectual movie I’ve ever seen, but then why would a movie about aliens be intellectual?
“It had some good humor and was very well thought out.”
She and I both disliked some of the characters, particularly the dog that is Smith’s sidekick early on. “It was a relief when the dog was eliminated,” she said, speaking for us both.
Her favorite seen was when K realized who he was (he had MiB-induced amnesia).
“I’ve seen a lot of really serious alien movies where everything was so important and no one has any fun getting to the destination,” she concluded. “This time there was humor, and the process was more enjoyable. It’s like going on a trip and enjoying the traveling, even before you get to the destination.”
So daughter gives it a mild thumbs up, while dad snores away waiting for his trip down “The Road to Perdition.” Could Paul Newman and Tom Hanks go wrong? Seems unlikely.
END
At the Gaslight
Dad: 2 stars
Daughter: 3 stars
Much ado about worms
By Brent & Katherine Northup
The original “Men In Black” caught most of us by surprise. It was a campy, cynical sci-fi movie whose special effects were, as often as not, parodies of modern moviemaking. In addition, there was a certain style – part space Western, part horror flick, part Saturday Night Live – which kept moviegoers off balance and laughing.
Something’s gone wrong on the way to the sequel. Even though Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith and director Barry Sonnenfeld are all back, the 88-minute sequel just never adds up to complete movie. Admittedly, it moves fast enough and ends quickly enough to keep us from looking at our watch, but, as one avid local moviegoer said, “it doesn’t have much that’s new.”
The story finds the secret police force back in action protecting the world from extra-terrestrials. A villainous named Serleena arrives on earth in pursuit of “the light.” The MiB team joins in the pursuit, but to save the world rather than to gain power over it.
Along side this thin plot, is a romance between Will Smith and waitress he meets at a pizza parlor where the drama begins. There’s some warmth in Rosario Dawson’s performance, a quality found virtually nowhere else in MiBII.
I’m not sure how fans will respond. Like all sequels, all the elements are back in place, guaranteeing some sense of payoff for the loyal. It moves fast. It has dozens of throwaway jokes, including a cameo by Michael Jackson. And it’s short. Does that add up to enough? I’m not sure.
Daughter Katherine was with me, and perhaps she’ll be the more typical audience – she was anticipating the movie, eager to see it. And her verdict?
“I liked it,” she began. “It wasn’t the most intellectual movie I’ve ever seen, but then why would a movie about aliens be intellectual?
“It had some good humor and was very well thought out.”
She and I both disliked some of the characters, particularly the dog that is Smith’s sidekick early on. “It was a relief when the dog was eliminated,” she said, speaking for us both.
Her favorite seen was when K realized who he was (he had MiB-induced amnesia).
“I’ve seen a lot of really serious alien movies where everything was so important and no one has any fun getting to the destination,” she concluded. “This time there was humor, and the process was more enjoyable. It’s like going on a trip and enjoying the traveling, even before you get to the destination.”
So daughter gives it a mild thumbs up, while dad snores away waiting for his trip down “The Road to Perdition.” Could Paul Newman and Tom Hanks go wrong? Seems unlikely.
END