MEN IN BLACK II [2002] Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith ; Rated PG

Jay (Smith) and Kay (Jones) return with their usual alien bashing fun. Jay has now become the top MIB agent in the alien monitoring organisation, but realises that he needs to bring his old partner out of retirement to help him solve a case and of course... save the world. This sequel is far superior to it's dreary predecessor and is much more likeable and more importantly, watchable than the first. This film rides on familiarity with the cast more than anything, as the jokes aren't amazingly funny and the story isn't amazingly good. That being said though, Will Smith and Tommy Lee seem to have gotten their comedic performances down to a fine art, practicing the first rule of comedy to a plom, by keeping straight faces all the way through. The special effects in this movie are much better than they were in the first and though they aren't actually that special (if you excuse the pun), they are smooth and fit seamlessly into the live footage. The film is directed with thought and style and is well paced, which all in all is the first step to making a good movie. This film is (like the original) typical summer smash nonsense, though this time MIB II breaks away from that stereotype by being surprisingly not half bad. Worth a look.