Men in Black II

REVIEW
The freshness may be gone, but the chemistry between its two leads and an assortment of good laughs still remain in this broad sequel that manages to be fun in spite of a little self-referential backslapping. Smith returns as Jay, the slick MIB agent who has had some trouble during the last five years finding a suitable replacement for his ex-partner Kay (Jones), whose memory was, of course, "neuralized" in the first film. When slimy alien Serleena (Boyle) arrives in search of the all-powerful Light of Zartha, Jay tracks down Kay (working at a post office, no less) to have him reprogrammed to join the fight. It's all an excuse for a series of familiar, often silly but funny set pieces, most of them accentuated by skilled makeup and special effects. Being basically a rehash of the first film, there's few surprises and the humor doesn't cut as deep. But thanks to the playing of Jones and Smith, some good-humored jokes, not to mention a scene-stealing talking pug and a group of hammy Worm Guys (all back for another go-round), you won't remember how formulaic it all is, only that it strives for nothing but to entertain, and mostly succeeds.