MIB2
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Men in Black II'' (stylized as ''MIIB'') is a 2002 American
science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
action comedy film The action comedy is a film genre that applies to action films where humor plays a much more central role. While early films feature stuntwork and humor, academic Cynthia King wrote that the genre only came into its own as a mainstay of the Americ ...
based on the
Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...
series of a similar name based on the
conspiracy theory A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that asserts the existence of a conspiracy (generally by powerful sinister groups, often political in motivation), when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * ...
. Produced by
Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...
and
Amblin Entertainment Amblin' Entertainment, Inc., formerly named Amblin Productions, is an American film production company founded by director and producer Steven Spielberg, and film producers Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall in 1980. Its headquarters are lo ...
in association with MacDonald/Parkes Productions, and distributed by
Sony Pictures Releasing Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group (formerly known as the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group until 2013, and abbreviated as SPMPG) is a division of Sony Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment to manage its motion picture operatio ...
, it is the sequel to ''
Men in Black In popular culture and UFO conspiracy theories, men in black (MIB) are government agents dressed in dark suits, who question, interrogate, harass, and threaten unidentified flying object (UFO) witnesses to keep them silent about what they have ...
'' (1997) and the second installment in the ''Men in Black'' film series. The film was directed by
Barry Sonnenfeld Barry Sonnenfeld (born April 1, 1953) is an American filmmaker and television director. He originally worked as a cinematographer for the Coen brothers before directing films such as '' The Addams Family'' (1991) and its sequel '' Addams Family ...
from a screenplay by Robert Gordon and
Barry Fanaro Barry Fanaro is an American screenwriter of television and feature films. He has taught screenwriting seminars at USC, University of California, Santa Barbara, UCSB, AFI (band), AFI and Mercer University. Early life Fanaro graduated magna cum lau ...
, and it stars
Tommy Lee Jones Tommy Lee Jones (born September 15, 1946) is an American actor. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Tommy Lee Jones, various accolades including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Primetime Emmy Award and two Scre ...
and
Will Smith Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968) is an American actor, rapper, and film producer. Known for his work in both Will Smith filmography, the screen and Will Smith discography, music industries, List of awards and nominations re ...
, with
Lara Flynn Boyle Lara Flynn Boyle (born March 24, 1970) is an American actress. She is known for playing Donna Hayward in the television series ''Twin Peaks'' (1990–1991). After appearing in Penelope Spheeris's comedy ''Wayne's World (film), Wayne's World'' (1 ...
,
Johnny Knoxville Philip John Clapp (born March 11, 1971), known professionally as Johnny Knoxville, is an American stunt performer, actor, producer, and screenwriter. He is best known as a co-creator and star of the MTV reality stunt show ''Jackass (franchise), ...
,
Rosario Dawson Rosario Isabel Dawson (born May 9, 1979) is an American actress. She made her feature-film debut in the 1995 independent drama '' Kids''. Her subsequent film roles include '' He Got Game'' (1998), '' Josie and the Pussycats'' (2001), ''Men in B ...
,
Tony Shalhoub Anthony Marc Shalhoub ( ; ; born October 9, 1953) is an American actor. He is known for a variety of roles ranging from comedic to dramatic on stage and screen. He has received several accolades including five Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, s ...
, and
Rip Torn Elmore Rual "Rip" Torn Jr. (February 6, 1931 – July 9, 2019) was an American actor whose career spanned roughly 60 years. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for playing Marsh Turner in '' Cross Creek'' (1983). Tor ...
in supporting roles. It featured one of
Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...
's last theatrical film appearances before his death in 2009. In the film, the emergence of an alien threat reunites Kevin Brown / Agent K (Jones) and James Darrell Edwards III / Agent J (Smith). Development for a sequel film began following the box office success of the original; Jones, Smith, and Sonnenfeld's returns were confirmed by 2001, and
David Koepp David Koepp (; born June 9, 1963) is an American screenwriter and director. He is the fourth most successful screenwriter of all time in terms of U.S. box office receipts with a total gross of over $2.6 billion. Koepp has achieved both critical ...
was initially hired to write the screenplay. Koepp then left production to work on ''
Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...
'' (2002) and was replaced with Gordon, who developed the script and story further. Fanaro was later brought in to perform some final rewrites to Gordon's treatment.
Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...
began on June 11, 2001 and lasted until that September, taking place primarily in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
; filming was delayed and several scenes were reworked following the
September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...
that month. The film's soundtrack contained the
theme song Theme music is a musical composition which is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at ...
"
Black Suits Comin' (Nod Ya Head) "Black Suits Comin' (Nod Ya Head)" is a song by rapper and actor Will Smith. The song was a part of the film ''Men in Black IIs soundtrack and the first single on Smith's album ''Born to Reign''. Background The song was written for the 2002 C ...
", performed by Smith. Aside from this song, composer
Danny Elfman Daniel Robert Elfman (born May 29, 1953) is an American film composer, singer, songwriter, and musician. He came to prominence as the lead vocalist and primary songwriter for the new wave band Oingo Boingo in the early 1980s. Since scoring his ...
, who scored the first film, returned to compose its sequel. ''Men in Black II'' premiered at
Mann Village Theater The Regency Village Theatre (formerly the Fox Theatre, Westwood Village or the Fox Village Theatre, commonly called the Westwood Village Theatre) is a historic, landmark cinema in Westwood, Los Angeles, California in the heart of the Mediterra ...
in
Westwood, Los Angeles Westwood is a commercial and residential neighborhood in the northern central portion of the Westside (Los Angeles County), Westside region of the city of Los Angeles, California. It is the home of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCL ...
on June 26, 2002, and was theatrically released in the United States on July 3 of that same year. It received generally mixed reviews from critics, who deemed it inferior to its predecessor, but praised Jones's and Smith's performances and action sequences. Nonetheless, it was a financial success, grossing $445.1 million worldwide and becoming the fifth- highest grossing film of 2002. Its sequel, ''
Men in Black 3 ''Men in Black 3'' (stylized as ''MIB³'') is a 2012 American science fiction action comedy film based on the comic book series, in turn based on the conspiracy theory. It is the third installment in the ''Men in Black'' film series. Direct ...
'', was released in 2012 to an improved critical and commercial response.


Plot

In flashbacks, a group of aliens called Zarthans, led by Princess Lauranna, travel to Earth and beg the Men in Black (MiB) organization for help in guarding a powerful item called the Light of Zartha before a
shapeshifting In mythology, folklore and speculative fiction, shapeshifting is the ability to physically transform oneself through unnatural means. The idea of shapeshifting is found in the oldest forms of totemism and shamanism, as well as the oldest existen ...
alien called Serleena gets it. Due to their neutral status, the MiB refuse before
Agent K Agent K (usually called Kay), born Kevin Cunningham Brown, is a fictional character and one of the two main protagonists of the ''Men in Black'' franchise (the other being Agent J). Kay is portrayed by Tommy Lee Jones in the three films, with ...
seemingly sends the Light off-world in a rocket. An angered Serleena kills Lauranna and leaves to pursue it. In 2002, five years after joining the MiB,
Agent J Agent J (usually called J), born James Darrell Edwards III, is one of the two protagonists of the ''Men in Black'' film series. Born October 19, 1965, Jay is an agent of the MIB, recruited by Agent K. He is energetic and tries to bring life and ...
has become one of its best agents while developing a reputation for neuralyzing partners he feels are emotionally unfit to cope with the work. Serleena returns after being informed by a two-headed alien named Scrad and Charlie that the Light is still on Earth and forces them to help her find it. Serleena kills a Zarthan
pizzeria A pizzeria is a restaurant focusing on pizza. A pizzeria may offer take-away, where the customer orders their food either in advance or at the restaurant and then takes the prepared food with them in a pizza box. A pizzeria may deliver food to ...
owner named Ben, who refuses to tell her where the Light is. While investigating Ben's murder, J develops an attraction towards a witness named Laura. J breaks MiB protocol and chooses not to neuralyze her. Investigating further, J later discovers that K hid the Light on Earth. Due to K having been neuralyzed five years ago before retiring, no one knows where the Light is. J finds K serving as
postmaster A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...
of a small town and eventually convinces him to return. J brings K to MIB's headquarters to use the deneuralyzer machine to restore his memories. However, Serleena, Scrad, and Charlie attack the facility, forcing the pair to escape and find Jack Jeebs, an alien
pawnbroker A pawnbroker is an individual that offers secured loans to people, with items of personal property used as Collateral (finance), collateral. A pawnbrokering business is called a pawnshop, and while many items can be pawned, pawnshops typic ...
who built an illegal deneuralyzer. Although the machine works, K fails to remember the Light as he had neuralyzed himself and those memories have not returned. Nonetheless, he left himself a series of clues. After locating a locker key at the pizzeria and leaving Laura with a group of alien worms for her safety, the pair head to
Grand Central Terminal Grand Central Terminal (GCT; also referred to as Grand Central Station or simply as Grand Central) is a commuter rail terminal station, terminal located at 42nd Street (Manhattan), 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York Ci ...
, where they find a locker containing a society of tiny aliens who worship K as their deity and developed a religion around a video store membership card. Visiting the store, the owner shows them a fictionalized version of the MiB's previous encounter with the Light and Serleena. K remembers what really happened, but only tells J that the Light must leave Earth within one hour or Earth will be destroyed. J believes the Light is Laura's bracelet, which is now glowing. The pair head back to the worms, only to learn Serleena attacked them and kidnapped Laura. Joined by the worms, the agents infiltrate and retake MiB headquarters and rescue Laura before escaping to return the Light. Serleena chases them across Manhattan until J tricks her into being eaten by Jeff, a gigantic worm-like alien living in the subway. Guided by Laura's bracelet, the agents locate a Zarthan transport ship, where K reveals Laura is the Light and Lauranna's daughter before convincing J to let her go so she can save Earth and Zartha. As Laura is about to leave, Serleena makes another attempt at seizing her, having assimilated Jeff, but K and J kill Serleena. K uses a giant neuralyzer hidden in the
Statue of Liberty The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; ) is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, within New York City. The copper-clad statue, a gift to the United States from the people of French Thir ...
's torch to erase New York's populace's memories of Serleena's actions.


Cast

*
Tommy Lee Jones Tommy Lee Jones (born September 15, 1946) is an American actor. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Tommy Lee Jones, various accolades including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Primetime Emmy Award and two Scre ...
as Kevin Brown / Agent K, a decommissioned senior MIB agent and the only person who used to know how to stop the latest threat to Earth's safety *
Will Smith Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968) is an American actor, rapper, and film producer. Known for his work in both Will Smith filmography, the screen and Will Smith discography, music industries, List of awards and nominations re ...
as James Darrel Edwards III / Agent J, still on active duty with the MIB, he is not satisfied with the partners assigned to him and keeps neuralyzing them *
Rip Torn Elmore Rual "Rip" Torn Jr. (February 6, 1931 – July 9, 2019) was an American actor whose career spanned roughly 60 years. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for playing Marsh Turner in '' Cross Creek'' (1983). Tor ...
as Chief Zed, the head of the MIB *
Lara Flynn Boyle Lara Flynn Boyle (born March 24, 1970) is an American actress. She is known for playing Donna Hayward in the television series ''Twin Peaks'' (1990–1991). After appearing in Penelope Spheeris's comedy ''Wayne's World (film), Wayne's World'' (1 ...
as Serleena, a shapeshifting Kylothian alien who comes to Earth to find a vital power source used by her race's enemies *
Johnny Knoxville Philip John Clapp (born March 11, 1971), known professionally as Johnny Knoxville, is an American stunt performer, actor, producer, and screenwriter. He is best known as a co-creator and star of the MTV reality stunt show ''Jackass (franchise), ...
as Scrad and Charlie, a humanoid alien (Scrad) with a second small head (Charlie) on a stalk protruding from his neck, who does Serleena's dirty work *
Rosario Dawson Rosario Isabel Dawson (born May 9, 1979) is an American actress. She made her feature-film debut in the 1995 independent drama '' Kids''. Her subsequent film roles include '' He Got Game'' (1998), '' Josie and the Pussycats'' (2001), ''Men in B ...
as Laura Vasquez, a young woman who turns out to be the long-lost alien princess from Zartha and the power source sought by Serleena *
Tony Shalhoub Anthony Marc Shalhoub ( ; ; born October 9, 1953) is an American actor. He is known for a variety of roles ranging from comedic to dramatic on stage and screen. He has received several accolades including five Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, s ...
as Jack Jeebs, an alien pawn shop owner who uses a home-built machine to "de-neuralyze" K and restore his memory *
Patrick Warburton Patrick Warburton (born November 14, 1964) is an American actor. His live action TV roles include David Puddy on ''Seinfeld'', the Tick (character), title character on ''The Tick (2001 TV series), The Tick'', Jeb Denton on ''Less than Perfect'' ...
as Agent T, partnered with J, who has an incident with Jeff, a gigantic worm-like alien living in the subway, leading to J neuralyzing him and throwing him out of MIB. *
Jack Kehler Jack Kehler (May 22, 1946 – May 7, 2022) was an American character actor. He was best known for his role of Marty, a landlord in ''The Big Lebowski''. He also appeared in ''Men in Black II'', '' The Last Boy Scout'', ''Point Break'', ''Wyatt Ea ...
as Ben, a Zarthan pizzeria owner *
David Cross David Cross (born April 4, 1964) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and director. Cross is best known for his stand-up performances, the HBO sketch comedy series '' Mr. Show with Bob and David'' (1995–1998), his role as Ian Hawk ...
as Newton, a
video store A video rental shop/store is a physical retail business that rents home videos such as movies, prerecorded TV shows, video game cartridges/discs and other media content. Typically, a rental shop conducts business with customers under condit ...
owner * Colombe Jacobsen as Hailey, a video store clerk * John Alexander as Jarra, an alien criminal who had tried to steal the Earth's ozone *
Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...
as Himself, asking to be made Agent M *
Martha Stewart Martha Helen Stewart (, ; born August 3, 1941) is an American retail business woman, writer, and television personality. As the founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, focusing on home and hospitality, she gained success through a variety ...
as Herself ''(cameo)'' *
Peter Graves Peter Graves (born Peter Duesler Aurness; March 18, 1926 – March 14, 2010) was an American actor who portrayed Jim Phelps in the television series ''Mission: Impossible (1966 TV series), Mission: Impossible'' from 1967 to 1973 and in its reviv ...
as Himself, host of 'Mysteries in History' * Linda Kim as Princess Lauranna, an alien from Zartha and the mother of Laura * Paige Brooks as 'Mysteries in History' Lauranna *
Nick Cannon Nicholas Scott Cannon (born October 8, 1980) is an American comedian, television presenter, actor, and rapper. In television, he began his career as a teenager on Nickelodeon's '' All That'' before going on to host '' The Nick Cannon Show'', '' ...
as MIB Autopsy Agent *
Biz Markie Marcel Theo Hall (April 8, 1964 – July 16, 2021), known professionally as Biz Markie, was an American rapper, singer, songwriter, DJ, and record producer who gained prominence during hip hop's golden age. He was particularly recognized for ...
as Alien Beatboxer * Jeremy Howard as Postal Sorting Alien *
Martin Klebba Martin Klebba (born June 23, 1969) is an American actor and stunt performer. He has a form of dwarfism called acromicric dysplasia; he is . Klebba is best known for his role as Marty in the '' Pirates of the Caribbean'' franchise. He made his fi ...
as Family Child Alien *
Peter Spellos Peter Alexander Spellos (March 1, 1954 – November 19, 2023) was an American voice actor. Spellos appeared in hundreds of films and television shows. He died from pancreatic cancer in Indianapolis, Indiana on November 19, 2023, at the age of 69. ...
as Captain Larry Bridgewater * Doug Jones as Joey


Voices

*
Tim Blaney Timothy Patrick Blaney (born April 23, 1959) is an American puppeteer and voice actor. He has provided the voices for Frank the Pug in the ''Men in Black'' franchise, and the robot Johnny 5 in ''Short Circuit'' and ''Short Circuit 2 ''Short ...
as
Frank the Pug Frank the Pug is a fictional character from the ''Men in Black'' franchise, first seen in the 1997 film. He has also appeared in the 2002 sequel, 2019 spin-off, the animated series and the video game '' MIB: Alien Crisis''. Within the films, Fr ...
* Brad Abrell as Worm Guy * Greg Ballora as Worm Guy * Thom Fountain as Worm Guy * Carl Johnson as Worm Guy * Richard Pearson as Gordy


Production

Despite some initial involvement from
David Koepp David Koepp (; born June 9, 1963) is an American screenwriter and director. He is the fourth most successful screenwriter of all time in terms of U.S. box office receipts with a total gross of over $2.6 billion. Koepp has achieved both critical ...
(who left to work on''
Panic Room ''Panic Room'' is a 2002 American thriller film directed by David Fincher. The film stars Jodie Foster and Kristen Stewart as a mother and daughter whose new home is invaded by burglars, played by Forest Whitaker, Jared Leto, and Dwight ...
'' and ''
Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...
''), the script was written by Robert Gordon and later revised by Barry Fanaro, who added pop culture references, something which Gordon had deliberately avoided. Barry Sonnenfeld took issue with the producers' focus on the love story between Will Smith's and Rosario Dawson's characters, saying that "I learned on ''
Wild Wild West ''Wild Wild West'' is a 1999 American steampunk Western film directed by Barry Sonnenfeld and written by S. S. Wilson and Brent Maddock alongside Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman, based on a story conceived by Jim and John Thomas. Loosely ...
'' that audiences didn't want to see Will as the straight man. And until Tommy comes back into the movie, by definition Will's the straight man." Fanaro condensed the first part of the film and brought Agent K in earlier.
Famke Janssen Famke Beumer Janssen (; born 5 November 1964) is a Dutch actress and former model. She played Xenia Onatopp in ''GoldenEye'' (1995), Jean Grey (film series character), Jean Grey / Phoenix in the X-Men (film series), ''X-Men'' film series (2000†...
was originally cast as Serlenna, but dropped out due to personal issues, Lara Flynn Boyle was hired to replace her. Michael Jackson wanted to be in the film, Sonnenfield initially wanted Jackson to cameo as an alien, but he refused as he wanted cameo in the MiB suit which convinced Sonnenfield.
Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...
began on June 11, 2001 and ended on September 23, 2001. The climax of the story was originally filmed against a backdrop of the twin towers of the original
World Trade Center World Trade Centers are the hundreds of sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association. World Trade Center may also refer to: Buildings * World Trade Center (1973–2001), a building complex that was destroyed during the September 11 at ...
; but after the
September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...
, the climactic scene was completely redone to being at the
Statue of Liberty The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; ) is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, within New York City. The copper-clad statue, a gift to the United States from the people of French Thir ...
. Other scenes incorporating views of the twin towers likewise were edited, or reshot. Filming for ''Men in Black II'' was also suspended due to the attacks. Supervising sound editor
Skip Lievsay Skip Lievsay is an American supervising sound editor, re-recording mixer and sound designer for film and television, Lievsay has worked with filmmakers and directors including the Coen brothers, Martin Scorsese, Spike Lee, Jonathan Demme and Robe ...
used a
Synclavier The Synclavier is an early digital synthesizer, polyphonic digital sampling system, and music workstation manufactured by New England Digital Corporation of Norwich, Vermont. It was produced in various forms from the late 1970s into the ea ...
to recreate and improve the original recording of the neuralyzer sound effect from the first film (which was the sound of a strobe flash as it recycles) by removing some distortion. For some of the scenes with the Serleena creature, the sound crew "took tree branches, put them inside a rubber membrane and pushed that around and added some water." For the special effects scene where the subway train is attacked by Jeff the Worm, a specially designed vise was used to crush a subway car and make it look as if it had been bitten in half. Unlike the first film and the 1997 animated series, ''Men in Black II'' did not feature Agent L who was played by
Linda Fiorentino Clorinda "Linda" Fiorentino (born March 9, 1958) is an American actress. Fiorentino made her screen debut with a leading role in the 1985 coming-of-age drama film ''Vision Quest'', followed that same year with another lead role in the action fil ...
, even though the character had a prominent role in the latter. It was briefly mentioned in the film that Agent J had her neuralyzed because she wanted to go back to working at the morgue. According to producer Laurie MacDonald, the studio did not consider her a permanent character in the franchise and decided to remove her from the sequel. There were also reports suggesting that Fiorentino was difficult to work with and supposedly Jones' refusal to work with her.


Music

The motion picture soundtrack to ''Men In Black II'' was released on June 25, 2002 by
Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...
.


Release


Marketing

In October 2001, the first photos for ''Men in Black II'' were revealed. A teaser trailer premiered in December 2001, which was attached to the screenings of '' The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring'' and ''
Ali Ali ibn Abi Talib (; ) was the fourth Rashidun caliph who ruled from until his assassination in 661, as well as the first Shia Imam. He was the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Born to Abu Talib ibn Abd al-Muttalib an ...
''. Just four months later in April 2002, a new trailer was released online. It made its debut in theaters on May 3 with the release of ''
Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...
''.
Burger King Burger King Corporation (BK, stylized in all caps) is an American multinational chain store, chain of hamburger fast food restaurants. Headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida, the company was founded in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacks ...
began selling a variety of kids meal toys themed to the film at their restaurants. Several action figures were also released by
Hasbro Hasbro, Inc. (; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment holding company founded on December 6, 1923 by Henry, Hillel and Herma ...
at the
North American International Toy Fair The North American International Toy Fair (formerly the American International Toy Fair and also known as Toy Fair New York) is an annual toy industry trade show held in mid-February in New York City's Jacob K. Javits Convention Center and at to ...
event. A
video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...
partly based on the film was released in 2002, titled '' Men in Black II: Alien Escape''.


Home media

''Men In Black II'' was released on
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...
and
VHS VHS (Video Home System) is a discontinued standard for consumer-level analog video recording on tape cassettes, introduced in 1976 by JVC. It was the dominant home video format throughout the tape media period of the 1980s and 1990s. Ma ...
on November 26, 2002, and on
Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...
on May 1, 2012. It came with an alternate ending where J is sent to the homeworld of the aliens from Grand Central Station. In the United Kingdom, the film was watched by 710,000 viewers on
subscription television Pay television, also known as subscription television, premium television or, when referring to an individual service, a premium channel, refers to subscription-based television services, usually provided by multichannel television providers, b ...
channel Sky Movies 1 in 2004, making it the year's eighth most-watched film on subscription television. The entire ''Men in Black'' series was released on 4K UHD Blu-ray on December 5, 2017.


Reception


Box office

Released theatrically on July 3, 2002, ''Men in Black II'' earned $18.5 million on its opening day, making it the third-highest Wednesday opening, behind ''
Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace ''Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace'' (also known simply as ''Star Wars: The Phantom Menace''), is a 1999 American Epic film, epic space opera film produced by Lucasfilm and distributed by 20th Century Fox. The film was written and d ...
'' and ''
Jurassic Park III ''Jurassic Park III'' is a 2001 American Science fiction film, science fiction adventure film, adventure action film directed by Joe Johnston and written by Peter Buchman, Alexander Payne, and Jim Taylor (writer), Jim Taylor. It is the third ...
''. The film would go on to make $52,148,751 during its opening weekend, becoming the highest Fourth of July three-day opening weekend, surpassing its predecessor ''
Men in Black In popular culture and UFO conspiracy theories, men in black (MIB) are government agents dressed in dark suits, who question, interrogate, harass, and threaten unidentified flying object (UFO) witnesses to keep them silent about what they have ...
''. Within five days, it grossed $87.1 million, breaking ''
Independence Day An independence day is an annual event memorialization, commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or Sovereign state, statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or after the end of a milit ...
''s record for having the biggest five-day Fourth of July Wednesday opening. ''Men in Black II'' would hold the record for having the largest Fourth of July opening weekend until it was surpassed by ''
Spider-Man 2 ''Spider-Man 2'' is a 2004 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character of Spider-Man. Directed by Sam Raimi and written by Alvin Sargent from a story conceived by Michael Chabon and the writing team of Alfred Gough and Miles ...
'' in 2004. That same year, ''
I, Robot ''I, Robot'' is a fixup collection of science fiction short stories by American writer Isaac Asimov. The stories originally appeared in the American magazines '' Super Science Stories'' and ''Astounding Science Fiction'' between 1940 and 1950 ...
'' tied the record for having the highest opening weekend for a
Will Smith Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968) is an American actor, rapper, and film producer. Known for his work in both Will Smith filmography, the screen and Will Smith discography, music industries, List of awards and nominations re ...
film. Both films remained so until 2007 when they were taken by '' I Am Legend''. The film was ranked number one at the box office upon opening, beating out ''
The Powerpuff Girls Movie ''The Powerpuff Girls Movie'' is a 2002 American animated prequel superhero film based on the Cartoon Network animated television series '' The Powerpuff Girls''. It was co-written and directed by series' creator Craig McCracken (in his feature- ...
''. It would go on to compete against other summer films, such as ''
Lilo & Stitch ''Lilo & Stitch'' () is a 2002 American animated Science fiction film, science fiction comedy-drama film, comedy-drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation for Walt Disney Pictures. It was written and directed by Chris Sanders and De ...
'', ''
Mr. Deeds ''Mr. Deeds'' is a 2002 American comedy film directed by Steven Brill, written by Tim Herlihy, and produced by Sid Ganis and Jack Giarraputo. It stars Adam Sandler in the title role, alongside Winona Ryder, Peter Gallagher, Jared Harris, Al ...
'' and '' Minority Report''. The film held the number one position in its second weekend with revenue of $24,410,311, a 53.2% decrease from the previous weekend. The third weekend saw a 40.4% decrease, with box office of $14,552,335, coming in at number three. In its fourth weekend, the film was at fourth place, with revenue of $8,477,202. ''Men in Black II'' fell out of the top ten after five weekends. After sixty-two days of release in North America, ''Men in Black II'' had grossed $190,418,803. 43.1% of the film's worldwide revenue of $445,135,288 came from North America. Grossing $1.2 million, ''Men in Black II'' had the second-highest opening weekend in Taiwan, behind ''
The Mummy Returns ''The Mummy Returns'' is a 2001 American fantasy action-adventure film written and directed by Stephen Sommers. It is the sequel to the 1999 film ''The Mummy'', and the second in ''The Mummy'' film series. Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, Jo ...
''. In France, the film made $10 million during its opening weekend, which was the country's second-highest of all time, after ''
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'' is a fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling. It is the first novel in the '' Harry Potter'' series and was Rowling's debut novel. It follows Harry Potter, a young wizard who dis ...
''. Then, it collected $3.1 million in Mexico, making it the fifth-highest opening weekend in the country, trailing the latter film, ''
Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...
'', ''
Ice Age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages, and g ...
'' and ''
Dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic Geological period, period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the #Evolutio ...
''.


Critical response

On
review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
, ''Men in Black II'' holds an approval rating of 38% based on 198 reviews, with an average score of 5.30/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Lacking the freshness of the first movie, ''MIB 2'' recycles elements from its predecessor with mixed results." On
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, the film received a score of 49 based on 37 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by
CinemaScore CinemaScore is an American market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts from the data. Background Ed Mintz, who ...
gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, the same score as the first film.
A. O. Scott Anthony Oliver Scott (born July 10, 1966) is an American journalist and cultural critic, known for his film and literary criticism. After starting his career at ''The New York Review of Books'', '' Variety'', and ''Slate'', he began writing film ...
of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' said, "Within the trivial, ingratiating scope of its ambition... the sequel is pleasant enough" and, noting the vast array of aliens designed by
Rick Baker Richard Alan "Rick" Baker (born December 8, 1950) is a retired American special make-up effects creator and actor. He is mostly known for his creature designs and effects. Baker has won the Academy Award for Best Makeup a record seven times f ...
, said that the film "really belongs to Mr. Baker." A review in ''
The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded as a weekly publication in 1878 by the Triplicane Six, becoming a daily in 1889. It is one of the India ...
'' called the film "worth viewing once." A review from ''Digital Media FX'' magazine praised the spaceships as looking realistic, but criticized many of the simpler visual effects, such as the moving backgrounds composited behind the car windows using blue-screen (which it called a throwback to the special effects of earlier decades). In August 2002, ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'' placed the Worm Guys among their list of the best CG characters, and said that enlarging the roles of Frank the Pug and the Worm Guys in ''Men in Black II'' was beneficial for the "tiring franchise."


Accolades

The film was nominated for both Best Science Fiction Film at the
Saturn Awards The Saturn Awards are American awards presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. The awards were created to honor science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, but have since grown to reward other films bel ...
and "Best Visual Effects in a Visual Effects Driven Motion Picture" at the
Visual Effects Society The Visual Effects Society (VES) is an entertainment industry organization representing visual effects practitioners including artists, animators, technologists, model makers, educators, studio leaders, supervisors, PR/marketing specialists and p ...
Award but lost to both '' Minority Report'' and '' The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers'' respectively. The film also earned a
Razzie Award The Golden Raspberry Awards (also known as the Razzies and Razzie Awards) is a parody award show honoring the worst of cinematic failures. Co-founded by UCLA film graduates and film industry veterans John J. B. Wilson and Mo Murphy, the Razzi ...
nomination for Lara Flynn Boyle as Worst Supporting Actress.


Sequels

A sequel titled ''Men in Black 3'', was released in 2012. A fourth installment, ''Men in Black: International'', was released in 2019.


Notes


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Men In Black 2 2002 films 2002 science fiction action films 2002 comedy films 2002 action comedy films 2000s science fiction comedy films 2000s monster movies 2000s English-language films 2000s American films 2000s buddy comedy films 2000s buddy cop films English-language science fiction comedy films English-language science fiction action films English-language crime films English-language action comedy films English-language thriller films English-language buddy comedy films American action comedy films American buddy comedy films American buddy cop films African-American action films African-American comedy films American science fiction comedy films American science fiction action films American sequel films Fictional-language films Films based on American comics Films about intelligence agencies Films about extraterrestrial life Films about dogs Films about memory erasure and alteration Films set in 1978 Films set in 2002 Films set in New York City Films set on the New York City Subway Films set in Cape Cod and the Islands Films shot in New York City Films shot in Los Angeles Impact of the September 11 attacks on cinema Men in Black (franchise) Films directed by Barry Sonnenfeld Films with screenplays by Robert Gordon Films scored by Danny Elfman Columbia Pictures films Amblin Entertainment films Films produced by Walter F. Parkes