Men In Black II

The first Men in Black, it could be argued, was one of the buzziest summer blockbusters of the ’90s; lacking the demented magnificence of Mars Attacks, but still the kind of enterprise Ed Wood would have heartily approved of. Its sequel, beset by endless script revisions, has taken a prolonged five-year stretch to reach our screens – and while it would be excessive to say it was worth the wait, Men in Black 2 still possesses enough goofy charm and (half-)wit to render it very agreeable viewing.

Opinion is still divided (frequently along gender lines) as to whether Will Smith is a class act or a smug bag of smarm, but this kind of light knockabout comedy is perfectly suited to his talents, and though he retains the tendency to nod and wink at the audience more than any actor alive, he’s too good-natured to truly irritate.

MIB2 teams him up again with the eternally nerveless Tommy Lee Jones, as well as Rip Torn (unfairly overlooked for an Oscar this year for his heroic efforts in Tom Green’s unjustly maligned masterpiece Freddy Got Fingered). The plot concocts another preposterous scenario whereby our heroes have to protect the planet from extra-terrestrial invasion, with veteran Agent Jay (Smith) headhunting his memory-wiped ex-comrade Agent Kay (Jones), for the world-saving information lodged in the latter’s brain. A talking pug, the obligatory giant galactic bugs and (more disturbingly) a Michael Jackson cameo round off the line-up, and the whole thing zips by at a refreshingly swift pace.

Forgettable but fun, Men in Black 2 is about as good as movies with talking dogs get.