“Men in Black II” (2002) assumes you saw the original, so it doesn’t spend a lot of time justifying all the aliens and strange plot twists. Actually, it doesn’t spend a lot of time doing anything. It’s barely over 90 minutes long. I will say this: As far as being a hybrid of sci-fi, action and buddy cop flicks, it does about as good a job as the original. Even the surprising undercurrent of poignancy remains, though barely. They just don’t seem to be trying very hard. Or maybe Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones just make it look easy.
Archives for posts with tag: sequels
I screwed up and thought “Before Sunset” (2004) was the first installment of the “Before” trilogy. But as I watched it, I learned through brief flashbacks and nonstop conversation between Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke about the initial romantic interlude that was “Before Sunrise.” Thus, my experience was neither an exercise in total confusion nor total enjoyment. Instead, this film felt more like a one-act play on the Hallmark Channel, featuring an ESPN-style analysis from Paris, showing highlights of the Romance Super Bowl that took place nine years earlier. Oh my god with the talking and talking and talking already.
It features robots battling reptile-looking alien thingys, but “Pacific Rim: Uprising” (2018) feels more like a St. Bernard – big, sloppy and lovable. Just like in the original, this sequel unloads a fusillade of clichés along with impressive weaponry. This time there’s even a subplot resembling “Top Gun” meets “Mickey Mouse Club.” There’s still ridiculous amounts of destruction (with very few dead bodies – unless the bodies will move the plot along) and attempts to save the world, but just like in the original, this film winks at you every once in a while, letting you know it’s in on the joke.
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