Stars:
Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith, Lara Flynn Boyle, Johnny Knoxville, Rosario Dawson,
Tony Shaloub, and Rip Torn
Writers:
Robert Gordon and Barry Fanaro
Based
On A Story By: Robert Gordon
Based
On The Malibu Comic By: Lowell Cunningham
Director:
Barry Sonnenfeld
Feature
length: 88 minutes
Extras:
Bonus Collectible Character Card CD, Music Video, Trailers
Languages:
English Stereo Sound
Subtitles:
N/A
Packaging:
Two-Disc Jewel Case
Chapter
Stops: 11
Sound:
Stereo Sound
Year
of Theatrical Release: 2002/DVD Release: 2002
Theatrical
Distributor: Columbia Pictures
Home
Video Distributor: Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment Through Media Max (In
Malaysia Only)
MPAA
Rating: PG-13
Reviewer:
Mark A. Rivera
Agent
Jay (Will Smith) calls his former partner and mentor, Agent Kay (Tommy Lee
Jones) out of retirement and has him deneuralyzed in order to stop a sexy, but
ruthless alien renegade (Lara Flynn Boyle) from obtaining the mysterious light
of Zartha and causing an intergalactic disaster. With former alien thugs freed
and on their trail, Jay and Kay must rely upon the assistance of Frank the Pug
and those obnoxious worm guys while trying to protect an innocent witness
(Rosario Dawson) that Jay has grown an emotional attachment for.
“Men
In Black II” covers a lot of the same story points that made the original
“Men In Black” entertaining and also benefits from five years’ worth of
advancements in special effects courtesy of Industrial Light And Magic and
Special Makeup and Animatronics by Effects Master Rick Baker. Like the first
“Men In Black” film there is not much of a story here and yet like the first
film there are some great funny and witty moments that give both the human and
alien characters in the story a chance to shine. The gags are not overused and
the film never takes itself too seriously, but still delivers a good mix of
surprises and thrills. If you hated “Men In Black” I think the odds are you
won’t care much for this one, but if you enjoyed the first one, you pretty
much know what to expect. Personally I liked this film in some ways better than
the first one. I think the original benefited from some witty jokes regarding
the human perception of their place in the universe that this film tries to
duplicate, but in a different way. Where “Men In Black II” benefits over the
original is that with the characters and tone already set from the original, the
action moves much faster now.
There
are some cameos that I would not spoil just in case you still have not seen this
film and Smith and Jones still have good chemistry on screen. However after five
years, Smith has lost a bit of his boyish charisma as he settles into his
thirties and as much as I like Tommy Lee Jones, I think if they wait another
five years to do a movie, he may need more than a little screen makeup and
enhancement courtesy of Rick Baker and ILM so if there is ever going to be a
third film, do it sooner please.
I
have to note that just as the technology of MPEG-2 compression for DVD-Videos
has improved over the last five years so has the technology of MPEG-1 VCD films
officially made and licensed by studios like Columbia TriStar. I screened this
VCD with my DVD player using component video output to my flat screen TV and I
am not making this up when I note that a guest thought I was watching the DVD.
Granted the picture when seen using component video input is better just as it
is with DVD, but while not DVD quality, this is as close to one that I have seen
yet. Media Max distributes the VCD for Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment and
they have done an excellent job. The artifacts that are inherent to VCD in
general is kept to a minimum so that one can enjoy a digital quality picture
that I think in this case is probably superior to the NTSC VHS release here in
North America and benefits from the digital CD quality English Stereo Sound too.
You also do not have to worry about the degradation that occurs with VHS over
the next ten years and at sales prices around $10 dollars; it might be prove to
be a cheaper and wiser investment over the VHS tape too.
There
are no foreign captions or subtitles that obscure the picture and the film is
spread across two CDs with nice surface art housed in a two-disc jewel case. The
film is presented in a (1.33:1) aspect ratio, but again if you want something to
plug into your laptop to watch and you only have a CD-ROM drive or are just
looking for a cheap digital alternative for whatever personal reasons, this is
not a bad choice at all.
Extra
features include trailers for “Spider-Man” (2:04), “xXx” (1:28), and the
TV show “Amazing Race 3” (: 50), which precede the feature on disc one.
After the feature on disc two, the Will Smith music video for the film (4:55)
appears. The sound is uncompressed CD stereo sound so be careful to lower the
volume on your home theater or whatever speaker system you use before you play
these discs. A bonus third collectible card CD with a character image on the
surface is included as well.
Please
be aware that while most DVD players are backwardly compatible with VCD, not all
are so check your player’s documentation and make sure your DVD player can
playback both NTSC and PAL Video-CDs. PC users with media players and those who
own an NTSC/PAL compatible VCD player should have no problem playing back this
film, but if you are not sure, check with your retailer first. “Men In Black
II” is a nice compliment to the DVD release already available and is available
on VCD now at retailers online. You can purchase copy from www.eurekamovies.com.
©
Copyright 2002 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.