Men in Black II

The first in this franchise had the advantage of being an original, quirky and entertaining spoof of all things sci fi with a couple of characterful detectives trying to stop world decimation. This just drags that enjoyable concept, kicking and screaming, into a sequel that is nowhere near as good, as well written, nor do Tommy Lee Jones ("K") or Will Smith ("J") have anything like enough to work with to make this film anything other than an unremarkable story overly-featuring a talking dog. The premise is that "K" has left the "MIB" and so obviously has no memories of his time at the agency. With global extermination looming yet again, "J" knows that his only hope is to reactive his erstwhile mentor's memories - and quickly. Easier said than done! "J" gradually comes to realise, though, that "K" had anticipated some sort of necessity for his return and so had left some mnemonic clues for them both to find enabling him, we hope, to return to fighting fitness. The nature of the story has flipped the dynamic leaving much more of the frankly irritating "J" in pole position far too often for me, and "Z" (Rip Torn) doesn't make much of an impact either as we are introduced to a special effects fest of alien creations that go some way to creating a bit of a sense of fun with this otherwise disappointing follow-up. Too much dialogue and too much Will Smith - one film was plenty.