Men in Black II
Columbia Pictures | Release Date: July 3, 2002 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
49
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 37 Critic Reviews
Positive:
11
Mixed:
21
Negative:
5
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
VarietyTodd McCarthy
Elaborate, sporadically amusing but awfully lightweight followup, which has close to the same tone as its predecessor but makes one realize that freshness had a lot to do with its impact. Read full review
60
Film ThreatRon Wells
Hey, I'm not saying it's bad. It's kind of entertaining, what I can recall of it after two days. It's, uh, okay. Just okay, though. Read full review
60
NewsweekDavid Ansen
There are just enough fresh, funny gags and witty throwaways to keep the 88-minute MIB2 percolating -- it fulfills its end of the bargain: a good time will be had by almost all.
60
Washington PostDesson Thomson
The only active ingredient is the dynamic between Smith and Jones. There's just enough of that to get us through. Read full review
60
The New York TimesDana Stevens
As fizzy as the first, but not quite as refreshing. The pleasurable, eye-popping sense of surprise has diminished, and the teasingly referential attitude shows signs of fatigue. Read full review
60
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
It's interesting to see how a potent premise -- those among us who behave like aliens probably are -- can sustain, more or less, an erratic, disjointed sequel.
58
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
Some motion pictures portray ultimate passion; others create ultimate thrills. Men in Black II achieves ultimate insignificance -- it's the sci-fi comedy spectacle as Whiffle-Ball epic. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
There's something wrong with this picture, and the problem is there on Smith's face -- Smith looks distressingly I-was-an-Oscar-nominee bored. That goes double for Jones. Read full review
50
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
To his eternal credit, Jones gives his considerable all and even coaxes a startling note of poignancy from one scene, while Smith just bops along, lobbing gags and grinning at the special effects. Read full review
50
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
Suffers from a fatal lack of purpose. This sleek, visually inventive but frustratingly flat movie is made up entirely of throwaway bits -- occasionally amusing, even ingenious bits. But still, they're just bits. Read full review
50
Village VoiceJ. Hoberman
However cool, Smith's lovable braggadocio and Lee's practiced deadpan don't exactly make them Laurel and Hardy. Read full review
50
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
It's a stylish package with not much inside. Read full review
50
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
A talking bulldog named Frank steals the show. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubScott Tobias
None of it sticks, but with the door left open for a third Men In Black movie, the one advantage of forgetting everything is not knowing exactly what's coming two summers from now. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
A business-as-usual blockbuster blueprint that rarely surprises you. Read full review
50
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
On the positive side, the four Worm Guys haven't lost their squiggly charm, and Rip Torn is always welcome as MIB mastermind Zed. On the minus side, you get two Johnny Knoxvilles, one of them a tiny head that protrudes from the big one's shoulder. Read full review
50
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
Moderately amusing sequel, which is best when it relies on dead-pan acting by the stars, worst when it drags in summer-movie stupidities like an incessantly talking dog. Read full review
42
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
For all its bells and whistles, only when it lingers on Jones' dry wit and pained, rheumy eyes does this film about aliens ever seem alive, let alone human. Read full review
40
SalonJeff Stark
Here's an idea: Let's just take that same gizmo-packed alien-attack buddy-flick blockbuster from the summer of '97 ... and make it dumber! Read full review
40
L.A. WeeklyChuck Stephens
Smith and Jones sometimes have to paddle hard to keep their heads above the toilet water in which screenwriters Robert Gordon (Galaxy Quest) and Barry Fanaro (Kingpin) occasionally dunk them. But if the presence of Smith and Jones is indeed the tinker-proof ingredient of the Men in Black formula, little else seems to have survived the production unaltered. Read full review
40
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
A disappointment. A good-faith attempt has been made to duplicate the original elements, but the mix is wrong, bearings have been lost, the balance is off. It was attitude that made "Men in Black" special, a particular kind of cool insouciance that has proved as impossible to duplicate as it was irresistible to experience. Read full review
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