MEN IN BLACK II (2002) **1/2 A dramatic improvement over the first one, at least for the first half. After that they get bogged down trying to pretend that they have a plot to develop, and worse, one about a love interest previously highlighted in two scenes lasting a total of about 3 minutes, and which will no doubt give rise to an excuse for yet another sequel. But it's funnier, has a lot more sense of what makes the old sci-fi movies intertaining: great and ridiculous creatures, bad jokes (the best of which are so politically incorrect as to almost make me embarrassed, almost), absurd situations. Will Smith (Agent J) appears to have a great deal more confidence, which means that we don't get as much awkwardly affected macho "cool," which is nice, but he still more seems a jive honkey's representation of the extent that mainstream white culture will tolerate black culture than anything authentic. Tommy Lee Jones (Agent K) is still slightly better, but his best moments come as a postman. Now Victoria's Secret's Lara Flynn Boyle, the ultimate hairspray magnet, now we've got something there. She'll rightfully take her place among the historic space hussies. She is, in fact, enough to inspire a limerick: There was a young spacegirl named Boyle/made Agent K's blood go bub-boil/stuck her tongue through his head/turned out he ain't dead/in the sequel I hope she's the foil!" Again. But couldn't they, like, cast Owen Wilson or Chris Rock or Jackie Chan or Queen Latifah or Graham Norton or somebody besides Will Smith?
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