"Fade to 'Black'"
by Scott Mantz

"Men in Black II"
Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith
Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld

More of the same, but less of it! Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith assume the position in "Men in Black II"

If 1996's "Independence Day" made Will Smith a movie star, then 1997's "Men in Black" made him a bona-fide box office sensation. Then again, he had help. By partnering his street-smart, wise-cracking cop with a no-nonsense, alien busting Tommy Lee Jones, the refreshing fish-out-of-water sci-fi comedy struck a chord to the tune of $587 million worldwide.

But that was 5 years ago, and after too much time on the job, Smith's character looks like he should be sending out his resume. Not only is the usually affable and energetic Smith surprisingly bland, but so is the rest of "Men in Black II." In fact, there's nothing about this lame sequel that wasn't done better the first time around, which makes its brief 88 minute running time feel like an eternity in hyperspace.

At the end of the first film, Agent Kay (Tommy Lee Jones) wiped out his old memories so he could retreat to a quieter life in a seaside New England town. Agent Jay (Will Smith) misses his old partner, whose help is needed when evil aliens led by the sexy Serleena (Lara Flynn Boyle) arrive on earth to steal a device that will destroy the world. Agent Kay holds the key to that device, and it's up to Agent Jay to restore his memory and bust these alien baddies once and for all.

Considering how vibrant and exciting the first "Men in Black" was, it's surprising how weak and uninspired the sequel is. Then again, it's surprising that the film was even made at all. Between the hefty profit participation deal for the major players and the reported budget of more than $140 million, it will be a long time before Sony Pictures makes a substantial amount of money on the film.

That would have been fine and dandy if "MiB2" was any good, but it's not. For that, you can thank the rushed production schedule, which began before the script was even finished in an effort to beat out the threat of last year's actors and writers strikes (which, by the way, never happened). As a result, the script feels under-developed, the story takes a while to get going, and the characters drag their feet with uninspired performances.

There is a moment of excitement when Mssrs. Smith and Jones finally get back in black, but by failing to recapture their chemistry from the original film, you almost wish that they would have left well enough alone. Smith is so tame compared to his more upbeat performances in "Independence Day," the first "Men in Black" and last year's "Ali" (for which he was nominated for an Oscar), it's almost like he phoned in his role. As for Tommy Lee Jones, when he finally makes his first appearance more than 25 minutes into the film, he merely seems like he's walking through his scenes.

Lara Flynn Boyle adds some spice to the film as the sexy alien vixen out to destroy the world, while Johnny Knoxville lives up to his former MTV hit show by playing (what else?) a two-headed jackass. And even though Rosario Dawson is quite charming as Smith's potential love interest, it speaks volumes that the strongest performance in the film comes from Frank the Pug, whose scene-stealing gags from the first movie have been bumped up to a supporting role this time around.

As expected, "Men in Black II" is filled with plenty of cool special effects, but the whole concept of closely guarded aliens living among us feels somewhat passe. There's no doubt that anticipation alone will put Will Smith back on his perch as the King of the Fourth of July ("Independence Day," "Men in Black," and even the weak "Wild Wild West" all opened in the top spot over their respective holiday weekends), but the time has definitely come for Smith and Jones to turn in their suits.

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