New U.S. Release

Men in Black II

At 88 minutes (81 not counting end credits scroll), "Men in Black II" may well be the most expensive live-action feature per minute that Hollywood has made. On the other hand, short running time could be a boon to exhibs, who can cram in an extra show per day. Whatever the case, pic sinks or swims on the basis of its sly, sardonic, sometimes surreal sense of humor, for the script by Robert Gordon ("Galaxy Quest") and Barry Fanaro ("Kingpin") gives it nothing to fall back on, and attitude just isn't enough to prevent interest from dwindling even across this brief sprint.

Unpresumptuously assuming basic aud familiarity with the basic premise of dapper G-Men vs. aliens in our midst, sequel puts its shimmering extravagance in relief by beginning with a mock '70s sci-fier so bad that the aliens arrive on spaceships on which the wires are fully visible. Then it's down to work for Agent Jay (Smith), who on a summer's night must rescue some Manhattan subway riders from the jaws of a particularly toothy snake that's devouring the train from behind.

Upsurge in sinister alien activity has been caused by the arrival of Serleena (Lara Flynn Boyle), a ferocious extraterrestrial arch-criminal who, because she can, transforms herself from a carnivorous plant into a slinky lingerie model while she goes about her Earthly business of tracking down an item that will give her the power to destroy the world. Supposedly helping her is a double-noggined cohort (Johnny Knoxville) who consistently proves two heads aren't necessarily better than one.

Funniest stuff in the picture involves Jay, who's the agency's top dog now that his mentor, Kay (Jones), has been sidelined, heading downtown to check out an alien incident in the company of a smart-mouthed canine named Frank. A veteran of one scene in the original, in which he was an informer valued by Kay for his street smarts, Frank is a sassy New Yawker who never hesitates to say what's on his mind, which is often in the gutter. This time out, he rides shotgun in Jay's Mercedes while crooning a distinctive rendition of "I Will Survive," and isn't short of remarks when Jay takes a shine to comely pizza parlor worker Laura (Rosario Dawson), who's had a alien sighting. Endearingly ugly and pug-nacious critter makes some adroit moves, be they real or digitally created, and Tim Blaney supplies the distinctively blunt voicings. This pooch is the first performer to make Will Smith look like the straight man in a comedy pairing.

There is some further amusement when, a half-hour in, Jay finally tracks down Kay in his new government job as postmaster at remote seaside P.O. in Massachusetts. Kay is the only person who knows the whereabouts of the object of Serleena's quest, but having been "neuralized" at the end of the previous picture, his memory has been erased. Too much time is devoted to convincing him of the inevitability of being de-neuralized in order to save the world, and it's extremely difficult to pump new gas into the comic balloon once it's begun leaking.

The pecking order between the two men is reversed from the previous pic, with the younger man in the driver's seat. But less humor stems from this situation than one might have imagined, so one is left to admire the almost casually dazzling alien creations of Rick Baker; the countless visual effects overseen by John Berton; Dawson's understated appeal; and the witty impertinence of Rip Torn as Zed, the secret agency's overlord, while pondering what a difference five years makes in terms of the hipness factor of black suits and Ray-Bans, not to mention alien threats.

Rather than for anything that actually happens, remainder of the film is memorable, if at all, for its off-the-wall visual non sequiturs. At one point, who should turn up on a large video screen at agency HQ than Michael Jackson, who volunteers for a job as an agent. Provoking even more of a reaction at this moment in time is the appearance of the omnipresent Martha Stewart on another screen, for little apparent reason. Also not bad are a conspiracy-films-only videostore where Oliver Stone reigns supreme and a family (in which director Sonnenfeld cameos as the father) amazed when Jay and Kay enter its apartment and zap open a wall to reveal a vast storeroom of the biggest, shiniest guns you've ever seen.

But the one brilliantly gaga inspiration is what appears inside a Grand Central Station storage locker when Kay opens it after many years; the abrupt lunacy that ensues reps the film's sole stroke of breathtaking audacity.

Camera (Deluxe color), Greg Gardiner; editors, Steven Weisberg, Richard Pearson; music, Danny Elfman; production designer, Bo Welch; art directors, Alec Hammond, Sean Haworth, Tom Wilkins, Michael Wylie (N.Y.); set designers, John Chichester, William Hawkins, Kevin Ishioka; set decorators, Cheryl Carasik, Ellen Christiansen (N.Y.); costume designer, Mary E. Vogt; sound (Dolby Digital/SDDS/DTS), Peter Kurland; supervising sound editor, Skip Lievsay; special animation and visual effects, Industrial Light & Magic; additional visual effects, Tippett Studio, Rhythm & Hues, Pacific Title Digital, Sony Pictures Imageworks; visual effects supervisor, John Berton; alien makeup effects, Rick Baker; associate producers, Stephanie Kemp, Marc Haimes; assistant director, Artist W. Robinson; second unit directors, Artie Malesci, Michael Owens (N.Y.); second unit camera, Keith Peterman, Kim F. Marks, Florian Ballhaus (N.Y.); casting, Ronna Kress. Reviewed at Arclight Cinemas, L.A., June 20, 2002. MPAA rating: PG-13. Running time: 88 MIN.