Men in Black II

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Men in Black II
Men in Black II Poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld
Screenplay by
Story byRobert Gordon
Based on The Men in Black
by Lowell Cunningham
Produced by
Starring
Cinematography Greg Gardiner
Edited by
Music by Danny Elfman
Production
companies
Distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing
Release date
  • July 3, 2002 (2002-07-03)
Running time
88 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$140 million [1]
Box office$441.8 million [1]

Men in Black II (stylized as MIIB) is a 2002 American science fiction action comedy film based on the Marvel Comics series of a similar name based on the conspiracy theory. Produced by Columbia Pictures and Amblin Entertainment in association with MacDonald Parkes Productions, and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing, it is the sequel to Men in Black (1997) and the second installment in the Men in Black franchise. The film was directed by Barry Sonnenfeld from a screenplay by Robert Gordon and Barry Fanaro, and it stars Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith, with Lara Flynn Boyle, Johnny Knoxville, Rosario Dawson, Tony Shalhoub, and Rip Torn in supporting roles. It also featured Michael Jackson's last theatrical film appearance before his death in June 2009. In the film, the emergence of an assumed subdued alien threat reunites Kevin Brown / Agent K (Jones) and James Darrell Edwards III / Agent J (Smith).

Contents

Development for a sequel film began following the box office success of the original; Jones, Smith, and Sonnenfeld's returns were confirmed by 2001, and David Koepp was initially hired to write the screenplay. Koepp then left production to work on Spider-Man (2002) and was replaced with Gordon, who developed the script and story further. Fanaro was later brought in to perform some final rewrites to Gordon's treatment. Principal photography began on June 11, 2001 and lasted until that September, taking place primarily in New York City; filming was delayed and several scenes were reworked following the September 11 attacks that month. The film's soundtrack contained the theme song "Black Suits Comin' (Nod Ya Head)", performed by Smith. Aside from this song, composer Danny Elfman, who scored the first film, returned to compose its sequel.

Men in Black II premiered at Mann Village Theater in Westwood, Los Angeles on June 26, 2002, and was theatrically released in the United States on July 3 of that same year. It received generally negative reviews from critics, who deemed it "inferior" to its predecessor but praised Jones's and Smith's performances. Nonetheless, it was a financial success, grossing $441.8 million worldwide, thus becoming the fifth-highest grossing film of 2002. The third installment, titled Men in Black 3 , was released in 2012 to better critical and commercial success.

Plot

In 2002, five years after joining the MIB, Agent J is the top agent but has developed a habit of neuralyzing partners he feels are emotionally unfit to cope with the work. When he is called to investigate the murder of an alien, Ben, at his pizzeria, waitress Laura Vasquez tells him that the murderers are Serleena, a shapeshifting, plant-like Kylothian who has taken the form of a Victoria's Secret lingerie model, and her two-headed servant Scrad and Charlie. Laura says they were looking for something called the Light of Zartha. J is strongly attracted to Laura, and in violation of MIB rules, does not neuralyze her to erase her memories.

J finds that little is known about the Light of Zartha, except that it is immensely powerful. As he investigates the crime, every lead points to his former partner and mentor, Agent K, who was neuralyzed upon retirement five years previously and remembers nothing of his MIB service. In Truro, Massachusetts, where K is now the town's postmaster, J convinces him of his past by proving that all of his fellow postal workers are friendly aliens.

In New York City, Serleena, along with Scrad and Charlie, launches an attack on MIB headquarters before K's neuralyzation can be reversed, but Jack Jeebs has an illegal deneuralyzer in his basement. K eventually regains his memories but remembers that years before, he neuralyzed himself specifically to erase what he knew of the Light of Zartha, and those memories have not returned. As a precaution, he left himself a series of clues.

At the pizzeria, they find a locker key. J and K fear for Laura's safety and hide her with the worms. The key opens a locker in Grand Central Terminal where a society of tiny aliens, who worship K as their deity, guard their most sacred relics: K's wristwatch and video store membership card.

At the store, as J and K watch a fictionalized story of the Light of Zartha, K remembers the Zarthan Queen Lauranna entrusted the MIB with safeguarding the Light from her nemesis, Serleena, who followed Lauranna to Earth and killed her. After hiding the Light, a grief-stricken K neuralyzed himself, both to bury his sadness and to ensure that he would never reveal its hiding place. K still cannot remember where he hid it nor what the Light looks like. Thinking it might be Laura's bracelet, he only remembers that it must return to Zartha soon, or both Earth and Zartha will be destroyed.

At the worms' apartment, they find that Serleena has captured Laura. With the worms, they infiltrate MIB headquarters, freeing Laura and the other agents. Serleena attempts to retaliate by chasing them with a spaceship through New York but is eaten by Jeff, a gigantic worm alien living in the New York City Subway.

Laura's bracelet leads J and K to the roof of a skyscraper, where a ship stands ready to transport the Light back to Zartha. K reveals that Laura is the daughter of Lauranna (and, it is implied, his daughter) and that she's also the Light. K convinces J and Laura that she must go to Zartha to save both her planet and Earth from destruction. Serleena, who has absorbed Jeff and taken his form, attempts to snatch the ship carrying Laura as it lifts off, but J and K blast her out of the sky. Since all of New York City has just witnessed this battle in the skies over the metropolis, K activates a giant neuralyzer in the torch of the Statue of Liberty.

Back at MIB headquarters, J finds the tiny locker-dwelling aliens in his locker, which K and Chief Zed moved there to give him some perspective. When J suggests showing the miniature creatures that their universe is bigger than a locker, K opens a door and reveals that the human universe is a locker within an immense alien train station.

Cast

Voices

Production

Despite some initial involvement from David Koepp (who left to work on Panic Room and Spider-Man ), [2] the script was written by Robert Gordon and later revised by Barry Fanaro, who added pop culture references, something which Gordon had deliberately avoided. [3] Sonnenfeld took issue with the producers' focus on the love story between Will Smith's and Rosario Dawson's characters, saying that "I learned on Wild Wild West that audiences didn't want to see Will as the straight man. And until Tommy comes back into the movie, by definition Will's the straight man." Fanaro condensed the first part of the film and brought Agent K in earlier. [2] Famke Janssen was originally cast as Serlenna, but dropped out due to personal issues, Lara Flynn Boyle was hired to replace her. [4] [5]

Principal photography began on June 11, 2001 and ended on September 23, 2001. The climax of the story was originally filmed against a backdrop of the twin towers of the original World Trade Center; but after the September 11 attacks, the climactic scene was reworked to being at the Statue of Liberty. Other scenes incorporating views of the twin towers likewise were edited, or reshot. [6] [7] Filming for Men in Black II was also suspended due to the attacks. [8]

Supervising sound editor Skip Lievsay used a Synclavier to recreate and improve the original recording of the neuralyzer sound effect from the first film (which was the sound of a strobe flash as it recycles) by removing some distortion. [9] For some of the scenes with the Serleena creature, the sound crew "took tree branches, put them inside a rubber membrane and pushed that around and added some water." [9] For the special effects scene where the subway train is attacked by Jeff the Worm, a specially designed vise was used to crush a subway car and make it look as if it had been bitten in half. [3]

Unlike the first film and the 1997 animated series, Men In Black II did not feature Agent L who was played by Linda Fiorentino, even though the character had a prominent role in the latter. It was briefly mentioned in the film by Agent J that she had been neuralized because she wanted to work back at the morgue. According to producer Laurie MacDonald, the studio did not consider her a permanent character in the franchise and decided to remove her from the sequel. There were also reports suggesting that Fiorentino was difficult to work with and supposedly Jones' refusal to work with her. [10] [11]

Music

The motion picture soundtrack to Men In Black II was released on June 25, 2002 by Columbia Records. [12]

No.TitleArtistLength
1."Worms Lounge 1 (Worms in Black)" Danny Elfman 5:20
2."Logo"Danny Elfman0:22
3."Titles"Danny Elfman5:01
4."Big Jeff"Danny Elfman2:25
5."Headquarters"Danny Elfman1:52
6."Chop-Chop"Danny Elfman2:00
7."Heart Thump"Danny Elfman1:51
8."Customs"Danny Elfman0:51
9."Hunting For K"Danny Elfman1:41
10."J Nabbed / K's Back"Danny Elfman2:20
11."The Real Story"Danny Elfman1:41
12."Sleuthing"Danny Elfman2:21
13."The Defense Begins"Danny Elfman2:47
14."The Chase"Danny Elfman3:22
15."The Light"Danny Elfman5:44
16."The Finale"Danny Elfman0:18
17."Worm Lounge 2"Danny Elfman3:09
18."Titles Revisited"Danny Elfman2:57
19."I Will Survive" Tim Blaney 3:03
20."Black Suits Comin' (Nod Ya Head)" Will Smith featuring Trā-Knox4:20
21."Who Let the Dogs Out" Baha Men 3:19
Total length:53:19 [12]

Release

Marketing

In October 2001, the first photos for Men in Black II were revealed. A teaser trailer premiered in December 2001, which was attached to the screenings of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring and Ali . [13] Just four months later in April 2002, a new trailer was released online. It made its debut in theaters on May 3 with the release of Spider-Man . [14]

Burger King began selling a variety of kids meal toys themed to the film at their restaurants. [15] Several action figures were also released by Hasbro at the North American International Toy Fair event. [16]

A video game partly based on the film was released in 2002, titled Men in Black II: Alien Escape . [17]

Home media

Men In Black II was released on DVD and VHS on November 26, 2002, [18] and on Blu-ray on May 1, 2012. It came with an alternate ending where J is sent to the homeworld of the aliens from Grand Central Station. [19]

In the United Kingdom, the film was watched by 710,000 viewers on subscription television channel Sky Movies 1 in 2004, making it the year's eighth most-watched film on subscription television. [20]

The entire Men In Black series was released on 4K UHD Blu-ray on December 5, 2017. [21]

Reception

Box office

Released theatrically on July 3, 2002, Men in Black II earned $18.5 million on its opening day, making it the third-highest Wednesday opening, behind Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace and Jurassic Park III . [22] The film would go on to make $52,148,751 during its opening weekend, becoming the highest Fourth of July three-day opening weekend, surpassing its predecessor Men in Black . [23] [24] Within five days, it grossed $87.1 million, breaking Independence Day 's record for having the biggest five-day Fourth of July Wednesday opening. [25] Men in Black II would hold the record for having the largest Fourth of July opening weekend until it was surpassed by Spider-Man 2 in 2004. [26] That same year, I, Robot tied the record for having the highest opening weekend for a Will Smith film. Both films remained so until 2007 when they were taken by I Am Legend . [27] The film was ranked number one at the box office upon opening, beating out The Powerpuff Girls Movie . It would go on to compete against other summer films like Lilo & Stitch , Mr. Deeds and Minority Report . [28] The film held the number one position in its second weekend with revenue of $24,410,311, a 53.2% decrease from the previous weekend. The third weekend saw a 40.4% decrease, with box office of $14,552,335, coming in at number three. [29] [30]

In its fourth weekend, the film was at fourth place, with revenue of $8,477,202. [30] Men in Black II fell out of the top ten after five weekends. [30] After sixty-two days of release in North America, Men in Black II had grossed $190,418,803. [1] 43.1% of the film's worldwide revenue of $441,818,803 came from North America. [1]

Critical response

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 38% based on 198 reviews, with an average score of 5.30/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Lacking the freshness of the first movie, MIB 2 recycles elements from its predecessor with mixed results." [31] On Metacritic, the film received a score of 49 based on 37 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". [32] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale. [33]

A. O. Scott of The New York Times said, "Within the trivial, ingratiating scope of its ambition... the sequel is pleasant enough" and, noting the vast array of aliens designed by Rick Baker, said that the film "really belongs to Mr. Baker." [34] A review in The Hindu called the film "worth viewing once." [35] A review from Digital Media FX magazine praised the spaceships as looking realistic, but criticized many of the simpler visual effects, such as the moving backgrounds composited behind the car windows using blue-screen (which it called a throwback to the special effects of earlier decades). [36] In August 2002, Entertainment Weekly placed the Worm Guys among their list of the best CG characters, and said that enlarging the roles of Frank the Pug and the Worm Guys in Men in Black II was beneficial for the "tiring franchise." [37]

Accolades

The film was nominated for both Best Science Fiction Film at the Saturn Awards and "Best Visual Effects in a Visual Effects Driven Motion Picture" at the Visual Effects Society Award but lost to both Minority Report and The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers respectively. [38] [39] The film also earned a Razzie Award nomination for Lara Flynn Boyle as Worst Supporting Actress. [40]

Sequels

A sequel titled Men in Black 3, was released in 2012.

A fourth installment, Men in Black: International, was released in 2019.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Men in black</span> Government agents who supposedly intimidate UFO witnesses

In popular culture and UFO conspiracy theories, men in black (MIB) are government agents dressed in black suits, who question, interrogate, harass, threaten, allegedly memory-wipe or sometimes even assassinate unidentified flying object (UFO) witnesses to keep them silent about what they have seen. The term is also frequently used to describe mysterious men working for unknown organizations, as well as various branches of government allegedly tasked with protecting secrets or performing other strange activities.

<i>Independence Day</i> (1996 film) Film by Roland Emmerich

Independence Day is a 1996 American science fiction action film co-written, directed and co-executive produced by Roland Emmerich, co-written and produced by Dean Devlin. It stars an ensemble cast that consists of Will Smith, Bill Pullman, Jeff Goldblum, Mary McDonnell, Judd Hirsch, Margaret Colin, Randy Quaid, Robert Loggia, James Rebhorn, and Harvey Fierstein. The film focuses on disparate groups of people who converge in the Nevada desert in the aftermath of a worldwide attack by a powerful extraterrestrial race. With the other people of the world, they launch a counterattack on July 4—Independence Day in the United States.

<i>Men in Black</i> (1997 film) 1997 film by Barry Sonnenfeld

Men in Black is a 1997 American science fiction action comedy film based on Lowell Cunningham's eponymous comic book series, which was itself based on the “Men in black” conspiracy theory. Produced by Columbia Pictures and Amblin Entertainment in association with MacDonald Parkes Productions, and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing, it is the first installment in the Men in Black franchise. Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld from a screenplay and screen story written by Ed Solomon, it stars Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith in the lead roles, with Linda Fiorentino, Vincent D'Onofrio, and Rip Torn in supporting roles. In the film, Kevin Brown / Agent K (Jones) and James Darrell Edwards III / Agent J (Smith) investigate a series of seemingly unrelated criminal incidents related to the extraterrestrial lifeforms which live in secret on Earth.

MIB may refer to:

<i>Men in Black: The Series</i> American animated television series

Men in Black: The Series is an American animated television series that originally aired on Kids' WB from October 11, 1997, to June 30, 2001.

<i>The Men in Black</i> (comics) Comic book

The Men in Black is an American comic book created and written by Lowell Cunningham, illustrated by Sandy Carruthers, and originally published by Aircel Comics, based on the actual “men in black” conspiracy theory. Aircel would later be bought out by Malibu Comics, which itself was bought out by Marvel Comics. Three issues were published in 1990, with another three the following year. The comic book later spawned a media franchise which includes a series of four films, an animated television series, video games, and a theme park attraction, as well as a number of tie-in one-shot comics from Marvel. Cunningham had the idea for the comic once a friend of his introduced him to the concept of government "men in black" upon seeing a black van riding the streets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agent K</span> Character in the Men in Black franchise

Agent K, born Kevin Cunningham Brown, is a fictional character and one of the two main protagonists of the Men in Black franchise. Kay is portrayed by Tommy Lee Jones in the three films, with Josh Brolin portraying his younger self in the third film, and voiced by Ed O'Ross and Gregg Berger in the animated series. The film's trading card series and Men in Black: The Game give K's full name as Kevin Cunningham, a nod to Lowell Cunningham, the creator of the comic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agent J</span> Fictional character in the Men in Black franchise

Agent J, born James Darrell Edwards III, is one of the two protagonists of the Men in Black film series. Born October 19, 1965, Jay is an agent of the MiB, recruited by Agent K. He is energetic and tries to bring life and emotion back to the bland organization. He is portrayed by Will Smith in the Men in Black film franchise, as well as in the amusement park ride Men in Black: Alien Attack at Universal Studios Florida. He is voiced by Keith Diamond in the animated series.

<i>Men in Black II: Alien Escape</i> 2002 video game

Men in Black II: Alien Escape is an action-adventure video game developed by Infogrames Melbourne House and published by Infogrames in 2002 for the PlayStation 2, and was later ported to the GameCube in 2003 by Tantalus. The game is partially based on the Men in Black II movie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Men in Black: Alien Attack</span> Dark ride at Universal Studios Florida

Men in Black: Alien Attack is a shooting interactive dark ride located at Universal Studios Florida in Orlando, Florida, based on the film, Men in Black, itself based on the original comic book of the same name created by Lowell Cunningham. The ride opened in 2000 after a five-year development process. The ride has generally been well received, winning an Outstanding Achievement award from the Themed Entertainment Association.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank the Pug</span> Fictional character

Frank the Pug is a fictional character from the Men in Black franchise, first seen in the 1997 film. He has also appeared in the 2002 sequel, 2019 spin-off, the animated series and the video game MIB: Alien Crisis. Within the films, Frank has the appearance of a normal pug dog, but he is actually an extraterrestrial in disguise. Frank is played in the first two films by a trained pug named Mushu, with Tim Blaney providing his voice in the films and the video game. In the animated series, the voice is provided by Eddie Barth. Mushu was raised by Ted Brac, who trained him for all his acting roles.

<i>Men in Black 3</i> 2012 science fiction action film directed by Barry Sonnenfeld

Men in Black 3 is a 2012 American science fiction action comedy film based on the Marvel Comics series of a similar name based on the conspiracy theory. Produced by Columbia Pictures and Amblin Entertainment in association with Parkes+MacDonald Image Nation and Hemisphere Media Capital, and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing, it is the sequel to Men in Black II (2002) and the third installment in the Men in Black franchise. Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld and written by Etan Cohen, the film stars Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones and Josh Brolin, with Jemaine Clement, Michael Stuhlbarg, Bill Hader and Emma Thompson in supporting roles. In the film, James Darrell Edwards III / Agent J (Smith) is required to go back in time to prevent the assassination of his partner Kevin Brown / Agent K (Jones), the fallout of which threatens the safety of Earth.

Barry Fanaro is an American screenwriter of television and feature films. He has taught screenwriting seminars at USC, UCSB, AFI and Mercer University.

<i>Men in Black</i> (franchise) Science fiction media franchise

Men in Black is a semi-comic science fiction media franchise that originated with the Malibu/Marvel comic book of the same name created by American author Lowell Cunningham. The franchise focuses on the titular non-governmental organization which monitors and regulates paranormal and alien activity on Earth while preventing civilians from finding out about it. The most notable agents within the organization are Jay, Kay, and Zed. The franchise has been adapted into other media including a series of four films, an animated television series, video games, and a theme park attraction.

<i>Men in Black</i> (film series) Film series

Men in Black is a series of American science fiction action comedy films directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, and based on the Malibu / Marvel comic book series The Men in Black by Lowell Cunningham, which was itself based on a UFO conspiracy theory. The first film, Men in Black, was released in 1997, the second film, Men in Black II in 2002, the third film, Men in Black 3 in 2012, and the fourth film, a spin-off Men in Black: International in 2019. Amblin Entertainment and MacDonald/Parkes Productions produced all four films and distributed through Columbia Pictures.

<i>MIB: Alien Crisis</i> 2012 video game

MIB: Alien Crisis is an on rails third-person shooter video game for the PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360. It was developed by Fun Labs and published by Activision. The game is the third installment in the Men in Black series of video games. Instead of Agent J or Agent K, the game features a new MIB agent named Agent P. The game was released on May 22, 2012. Alien Crisis is partially based on the Men in Black 3 movie and coincided with its launch in theaters. Tim Blaney reprises his role as Frank the Pug from the first two films.

<i>Men in Black: International</i> 2019 film directed by F. Gary Gray

Men in Black: International is a 2019 American science fiction action comedy film directed by F. Gary Gray and written by the writing team of Art Marcum and Matt Holloway. It is the fourth installment in the Men in Black film series, serving as a stand-alone sequel set in the same universe as the previous films, but is the first film in the series to not feature Will Smith or Tommy Lee Jones as the main characters.

<i>Men in Black: The Game</i> 1997 video game

Men in Black: The Game is an adventure video game developed by Gigawatt Studios for Microsoft Windows in 1997. Although it is an officially licensed game based on the 1997 film Men in Black, the plot is unrelated and it is a survival horror game as opposed to being a comedy. It is most likely an homage to the original The Men In Black comic book created by Lowell Cunningham with its dark aesthetics and 2D cinematics that resemble comic book panels. The game was ported to the PlayStation in 1998 by The Collective.

<i>Men in Black: The Series – Crashdown</i> 2001 video game

Men in Black: The Series – Crashdown is a first-person shooter video game based on the animated television series, Men in Black: The Series. The game was developed by Runecraft and published by Infogrames for the PlayStation. It was released in November 2001 to mixed reception.

<i>Men in Black: The Series</i> (video game) 1998 video game

Men in Black: The Series is an action platform video game developed by Tiertex Design Studios and published by Crave Entertainment for the Game Boy Color (GBC) on December 14, 1998. The game is based on the animated television series of the same name, and was followed by a sequel titled Men in Black 2: The Series, released for the Game Boy Color in 2000.

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