Men in Black II

  • Review Date: May 14, 2003
  • Rated: PG-13
  • Genre: Action/Adventure
  • Release Year: 2002
  • Running Time: 88 minutes

Common Sense Media says

Crazy creatures, some scares, and loads of fun.
  • Review Date: May 14, 2003
  • Rated: PG-13
  • Genre: Action/Adventure
  • Release Year: 2002
  • Running Time: 88 minutes

Age(i)

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Quality(i)

 
(i)
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What parents need to know

Positive messages

Humans at their best are protectors of the Earth and can triumph over superpowered invaders from outer space (albeit often with the help of over-the-top weapons). And, as always in comic battles like this, the good guys (both human and alien) prevail.

Positive role models

The members of the MIB agency are loyal, valiant, smart, strong, and male. With the exception of one innocent witness to a major crime, the few females (including the arch villain) are depicted as sexy and wear skimpy clothing and underwear throughout. It's an ethnically diverse cast (the hero is an African-American) and multicultural ("interplanetary" characters are everywhere).

Violence

Continuous comic-book action with colorful, hyped-up weapons and superpowers. Extraterrestrials are armed with a wide variety of fangs, antennae, and "monstrous" talents. Serpents strangle, insect heads are whacked off and regenerate, a giant worm destroys a subway car. And, amid the explosions, gunfire, punches, and wild rides, good guys (helped by heroic aliens) blast their way through the ultra-high-tech sets to save the planet.  

Sex

A flirtation, sexy clothing, a kiss during which the female's tongue becomes a snake, and one brief description of a past romantic encounter.

Language

Some mild off-color dialogue and insults: "putz," "idiot!" "kiss my ass,"  one "crap," one "hell," and a question about "anal probing."

Consumerism

Mountain Dew, C & H sugar, Kinko's, TV GUIDE, Sprint, Burger King, EBay, the game of Twister, and Crown Prince canned food.

Drinking, drugs, & smoking

One short scene shows some alien worms smoking cigars and drinking adult beverages.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that this sequel to Men in Black is filled with imaginative creatures and weird life forms, the more outrageous and humorously creepy the better. Giant worms, multi-headed beings, slithering serpents, as well as humans morphing into all manner of the grotesque, battle or aid the heroes. Cartoon action is nonstop; weapons range from giant ray guns, vaporizing explosions, crashes, martial arts, even a near drowning in a toilet bowl. Other than the very young who are not yet able to distinguish reality from fantasy, or especially sensitive kids, most will experience the movie as a hilarious thrill ride. Some mild off-color dialogue and insults ("putz," "kiss my ass," "crap," "hell"), some flirting, a kiss (which turns into an attack by snake tongue), as well as females who wear provocative bikini underwear in numerous scenes. Lots of commercial products are seen or mentioned.

Parents say

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Kids say

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What's the story?

At the end of Men in Black, agent J (Will Smith) erased the memories of his partner, K (Tommy Lee Jones), so that he could return to a normal life. As MEN IN BLACK II begins, a scary-looking alien (disguised as a Victoria's Secret model and played by Lara Flynn Boyle) returns to Earth and only K knows how to deal with her. J has to track K down, restore his memory, and work with him to save the planet from the scum of the universe.

Is it any good?

QUALITY
 

Men in Black was wonderfully original and achieved near perfection with a tone that was just off-center and the essence of cool, a satisfying story and spectacular special effects. This sequel may not be quite as good, but it's still loads of fun and pretty funny, with many imaginative creatures.

Families can talk about...

  • Families can talk about what they think creatures from other planets might be like, and why the way we think about them tells us more about us than it does about them.

  • Why doesn't J want to erase Rita's memory? Why is it important to find someone you can tell your real feelings to?

Movie details

Theatrical release date:July 3, 2002
DVD release date:May 13, 2003
Cast:Lara Flynn Boyle, Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith
Director:Barry Sonnenfeld
Studio:Columbia Tristar
Genre:Action/Adventure
Topics:Space and aliens
Run time:88 minutes
MPAA rating:PG-13
MPAA explanation:sci-fi action violence and some provocative humor

This review of Men in Black II was written by

Nell Minow

About our rating system

  • ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
  • PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
  • OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
  • NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids of any age.

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Quality

Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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Learning ratings

  • Best: Really engaging, great learning approach.
  • Very Good: Engaging, good learning approach.
  • Good: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
  • Fair: Somewhat engaging, okay learning approach.
  • Not for Learning: Not recommended for learning.
  • Not for Kids: Not age-appropriate for kids; not recommended for learning.

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Teen, 13 years old Written byscott2323 April 9, 2008
AGENot rated for age
QUALITY
 

good but not great

this movie is ok but not as good as the original
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Adult Written bybpurcell April 9, 2008
AGE
11
QUALITY
 

Great sequel-better than the first!!

There were a few startling parts- like things jumping out, but it was not scary like the first one ( I thought) was. It was very funny, and even the violence was comical. One word description: HILLARIOUS!!
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Kid, 12 years old November 15, 2010
AGE
7
QUALITY
 

*spit takes kool aid* Not as good as the last... What?

This one was great! At least it's better than several other sequels! This keeps up the basic idea for the first one while advancing the story! Like I said for the first one, great for kids. Still, this one does have some sexy scenes involving a creature called a vore and agent K.
What other families should know
Too much violence
Too much sex
Too much swearing
Great messages
Great role models
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