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#103123 - 05/07/2002 23:31 MIIB
tfabris
carpal tunnel

Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31578
Loc: Seattle, WA
All the reviews of Men In Black 2 were luekwarm, but I really enjoyed it. I thought it was a great sequel. Then again, the original MIB is one of my all-time favorite movies, and this one just followed the same formula as the original (albeit at a faster pace with more gags).
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Tony Fabris

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#103124 - 06/07/2002 00:43 Re: MIIB [Re: tfabris]
number6
old hand

Registered: 30/04/2001
Posts: 745
Loc: In The Village or sometimes: A...
I think this is like most sequels,
weaker than the original.

I liked Frank the Pug though - he should have been Agent K's partner during the whole film.




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#103125 - 06/07/2002 17:45 Re: MIIB [Re: number6]
lectric
pooh-bah

Registered: 20/01/2002
Posts: 2085
Loc: New Orleans, LA
Ugh, if I wasn't with my G/F, I'd have snuck into a different movie. Soooo dissapointed.

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#103126 - 06/07/2002 23:01 Re: MIIB [Re: lectric]
tfabris
carpal tunnel

Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31578
Loc: Seattle, WA
I don't see how people can say that. I thought it was even more fun than the first movie. More gags, faster paced, more focused... what were your problems with it?
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Tony Fabris

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#103127 - 06/07/2002 23:31 Re: MIIB [Re: tfabris]
elvis
enthusiast

Registered: 18/01/2002
Posts: 270
Loc: Arizona USA
Personally, I haven't even SEEN the movie and I'm already dissapointed in it.

I'm sure it will be a very fun movie. There were a couple moments in the first one that hinted at a 'real' movie with 'deep' questions and 'deep' answers. It had some kinda cool character developement, etc etc.... That's what really put the first one onto my top shelf.

I can only hope the 2nd one gives as much (or more) of ALL of that; I hope it doesn't just add more explosions (ala MI2).
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Elvis

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#103128 - 07/07/2002 10:17 Re: MIIB [Re: elvis]
tfabris
carpal tunnel

Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31578
Loc: Seattle, WA
There were a couple moments in the first one that hinted at a 'real' movie with 'deep' questions and 'deep' answers.

If you're hoping the second film has this, then you probably won't want to go see it. It's just a lighthearted action-comedy like the first one was. The only difference is that the gags are funnier, and there's more of them.
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Tony Fabris

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#103129 - 07/07/2002 10:27 Re: MIIB [Re: tfabris]
lockuplever
enthusiast

Registered: 30/01/2002
Posts: 264
Loc: Tucson, AZ
I've been planning to go see this movie, I am surprised by the mixed reviews, or should I say, totally opposite reviews. I'll go tonight and report back tomorrow, and see if I can back up Tony. I thought the first one was very good as well.
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Steve

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#103130 - 07/07/2002 16:55 Re: MIIB [Re: tfabris]
JBjorgen
carpal tunnel

Registered: 19/01/2002
Posts: 3583
Loc: Columbus, OH
I saw it over the weekend. It's a great summer popcorn flick. If you go into it expecting to get out of the 100+ degree heat and get a few laughs and some cool action, you won't be disappointed.

Then again...the most exciting part of the whole experience was The Two Towers trailer before the movie
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#103131 - 08/07/2002 14:07 Re: MIIB [Re: tfabris]
Rezolution
enthusiast

Registered: 24/01/2002
Posts: 260
Honestly, I felt the first movie was done with a more serious tone and was SOMEWHAT believable. The sequel was very silly. The whole in the first one where the guy scaled the building and Will ran up after him was more sci-fi and serious. The sequel has Will Smith chasing a giant worm in the subway and wacking his head on steel-i-beams that OBVIOUSLY would have killed him. It was kind of comic-book-ish compared to the original. The first one also had the EGGER suit, which could have quite possibly been the best part of the whole movie, and the sequel didn't even make reference to it... I think they just pushed everything a BIT TO FAR and it went from being kinda believable to just outright silly.

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#103132 - 08/07/2002 14:11 Re: MIIB [Re: Rezolution]
wfaulk
carpal tunnel

Registered: 25/12/2000
Posts: 16706
Loc: Raleigh, NC US
    It was kind of comic-book-ish compared to the original.
An odd notion, since the whole franchise is based on a comic book of the same name.
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Bitt Faulk

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#103133 - 08/07/2002 14:16 Re: MIIB [Re: Rezolution]
tfabris
carpal tunnel

Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31578
Loc: Seattle, WA
It was kind of comic-book-ish compared to the original.

Let me take a moment to remind everyone that both films were based on comic books.
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Tony Fabris

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#103134 - 08/07/2002 14:17 Re: MIIB [Re: wfaulk]
tfabris
carpal tunnel

Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31578
Loc: Seattle, WA
Damn, I need to get out of the habit of task-switching away from the "new post" screen and coming back five minutes later.
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Tony Fabris

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#103135 - 08/07/2002 15:03 Re: MIIB [Re: tfabris]
Dignan
carpal tunnel

Registered: 08/03/2000
Posts: 12320
Loc: Sterling, VA
I'm sure he knows that. I hate when people remind me that because a movie was based on a comic, it doesn't matter that it was handled in a silly way. Spiderman, to me, was stupid. I hated it for the reason that, as people told me "dude, it's based on a comic book, that's why the dialogue is like that." Well, this is a movie, and there are simply different rules. The first MIB was a great comic book movie. The dialogue didn't take its self too seriously (face it, Spiderman was a movie that thought its dialogue was good).

I definitely see rezolution's points. Read it again, and focus on his comments about the first movie.

Sorry, that rant was more for comic book movies in general, not this one
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#103136 - 08/07/2002 15:26 Re: MIIB [Re: Dignan]
Rezolution
enthusiast

Registered: 24/01/2002
Posts: 260
Thanks for reading my post I usually don't post on here because of responses like that. YES, I know that the movies were based on a comic book (it tells you that in the beginning of the MIBII movie, and YES I was paying attention). I just felt the first movie was more believable and the second one seemed more like a "comic book" directly ported to the movie screen... Maybe it's my imagination, but to me, the two movies felt like different genres. The first being a semi-serious sci-fi movie and the second being well, I don't know, SILLY.

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#103137 - 08/07/2002 16:51 Re: MIIB [Re: Rezolution]
wfaulk
carpal tunnel

Registered: 25/12/2000
Posts: 16706
Loc: Raleigh, NC US
Didn't mean to cause offense. I just thought it was a kinda funny turn of phrase, all things considered. I also didn't know that it mentioned that fact at the beginning of MIB2, as I have basically no interest in seeing it, and, therefore, have not. Most people aren't/weren't aware that the original was based on a comic book, including me, when it first came out, and I was working at a comic book shop both at the time and when the crappy Aircel comic came out years before, which I remembered, even though I hadn't read it. (I assume that it was crappy based on the fact that it was from Aircel. If it wasn't crappy, then it was likely to be the only one they put out that wasn't.)

Anyway, sorry to cause offense, and I'll try to avoid trampling on your delicate sensibilites in the future.
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Bitt Faulk

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#103138 - 08/07/2002 16:52 Re: MIIB [Re: Rezolution]
wfaulk
carpal tunnel

Registered: 25/12/2000
Posts: 16706
Loc: Raleigh, NC US
Although I do take some offense at your implication that comic books are inherently silly.
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Bitt Faulk

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#103139 - 08/07/2002 17:01 Re: MIIB [Re: wfaulk]
Rezolution
enthusiast

Registered: 24/01/2002
Posts: 260
Well, I am just too sensative. No real offense taken I realllllllllllllllly liked the FIRST movie adaptation of "The Crow", but didn't like the second or third(based on a comic book). I don't think most comic books are silly, but have you ever read anything from the early 90's like basically anything from Malibu comics? There was even a sattire written by Harlen Ellison about how one comic book designer took apart his comic book, re-arranged ALL of the pages, and said "look, it still tells a story, no matter how you sort out the pages". I think I got into comics at a time when all that was coming out every week was the "extra special hyper super duper platinum holigram collector edition".

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#103140 - 08/07/2002 17:13 Re: MIIB [Re: Rezolution]
wfaulk
carpal tunnel

Registered: 25/12/2000
Posts: 16706
Loc: Raleigh, NC US
There is certainly some truth to that fact, and it can be even more if you're familar with comics largely through the ill-fated boom of the early 1990s. It was the best of times; it was the worst of times. There was a lot of crap, but there was also a lot of stuff that managed to get out that wouldn't have been able to in more -- hmmm -- conservative(?) times. And a lot of that, both good and bad, still manages to hang around. And a lot of the good is silly, as is a lot of the bad. But I was, honestly, expecting you to come back and claim that they are inherently silly, and it seems a waste to throw away my tens of seconds worth of research finding a counterexample (mostly spent looking at my bookshelf), so I'll give it to you anyway.

Fax from Sarajevo, by Joe Kubert. I picked that one because (1) it's amazing and (2) it's by someone who has produced stuff that could easily be considered silly (Sgt. Rock, Tarzan, lots of standard superhero fare, and, really, pretty much anything you can think of). I think that everyone should read it. It's really great.

Also, I've been wanting to ask if any folks from that area of the world have read it and what they thought of it if they have. Takers?

(In defense of Malibu, though, I enjoyed a not insignificant portion of their Ultraverse superhero offering, back when that happened. It had been a while since there was some good, straightforward superhero stuff. But some of it was definitely just plain bad. I think your statement could more accurately be used to describe the early days of Image Comics, especially, say, any Liefeld crap)
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Bitt Faulk

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#103141 - 08/07/2002 17:19 Re: MIIB [Re: Rezolution]
lectric
pooh-bah

Registered: 20/01/2002
Posts: 2085
Loc: New Orleans, LA
That's my attitude exactly, I REALLY enjoyed the first one because of the sci-fi feel, the second one reminds me a lot of what happened to Star Wars. Kinda like the entire movie was geared to the 5-15 year old crowd in order to sell all the merchandising. I guess to me MIB was a Sci-fi movie with a little humor thrown in, and MIB II was a bubble-gum comedy with a VERY little bit of Sci-fi thrown in. I was sick of that stupid dog after its second scene.

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#103142 - 08/07/2002 17:33 Re: MIIB [Re: lectric]
Rezolution
enthusiast

Registered: 24/01/2002
Posts: 260
I would like to offically change my original wording of "comic-book-ish" to "bubble-gum comedy" and hope this resolves all negative feelings on this topic. It was just a bad choice of words on my part....Comic books are cool! The Crow is one of my TOP TEN FAVS.

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#103143 - 08/07/2002 17:37 Re: MIIB [Re: wfaulk]
Rezolution
enthusiast

Registered: 24/01/2002
Posts: 260
Would you like to buy my entire "early 90's comic book collection"? I think I have EVERY edition of "The death of Superman" including two different wall posters...
I also have a TON of collector cards and holograms and stuff

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#103144 - 08/07/2002 17:52 Re: MIIB [Re: tfabris]
drakino
carpal tunnel

Registered: 08/06/1999
Posts: 7868
Anyone ever watch the cartoon of MIB? To me, that was better in ways then the second movie, but then again the series did feel more like the first movie. At least when it started anyhow, towards the end it did begin to feel much like the second movie. Maybe the same writers were involved in both the movies and the cartoon series.

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#103145 - 08/07/2002 17:54 Re: MIIB [Re: Rezolution]
Dignan
carpal tunnel

Registered: 08/03/2000
Posts: 12320
Loc: Sterling, VA
I loved the first Crow movie as well. Fantastic stuff. At one point, Rob Zombie was going to write and direct one of the sequels. I think that would have been fantastic, or at least better than what resulted.

As for MIB 2, I want to ask something. Where the heck did this supposed popularity of the little worm guys come from? All the pre-hype for the movie seemed to revolve around them, resulting in the movie seemingly starring them. Hell, they even showed up in one of those damn Sprint commercials. What the heck is up with that?
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#103146 - 08/07/2002 17:54 Re: MIIB [Re: Rezolution]
wfaulk
carpal tunnel

Registered: 25/12/2000
Posts: 16706
Loc: Raleigh, NC US
To be honest, I have almost none of that sort of stuff, and I was buying tons of comics at the time. I believe that I have the entirety of DC's output, including all of their imprints, for about four or five years, a good amount of Marvel stuff from the same time, and god knows what sorts of independent stuff. But I have almost no Image (with the exception of The Maxx -- I have always really enjoyed Sam Kieth and Bill Loeb) or any of that pop investor crap. So, to answer your question -- I still don't want it.
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Bitt Faulk

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#103147 - 08/07/2002 17:59 Re: MIIB [Re: Dignan]
drakino
carpal tunnel

Registered: 08/06/1999
Posts: 7868
The worm guys had a big part in the cartoon series, as did Frank. Could explain their roles in the movie.

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#103148 - 08/07/2002 18:36 Re: MIIB [Re: Rezolution]
Neutrino
addict

Registered: 23/01/2002
Posts: 506
Loc: The Great Pacific NorthWest
I also agree with you Rez. The first one a least stuck to the story concept of a "Hidden" organization. The second one was just special effects with nothing really special and there was nothing "hidden" about MIB in this one. I also was torked about the complete similiarity in plots, hmmm lets see, something small is hidden on Earth and if it isn't found by the good guys before the deadline or the BEM finds it, its curtains. I mean, Sign me up!! I'll write the next one!
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#103149 - 08/07/2002 18:57 Re: MIIB [Re: Neutrino]
tfabris
carpal tunnel

Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31578
Loc: Seattle, WA
Something interesting about the first movie, explained in the extras on the DVD:

The first film actually was supposed to have a slightly more complicated plot involving the earth being caught in the crossfire between two warring space fleets. The "Bug" wanted them to go to war so that his race could feed off of the carnage. For some reason, this did not do well with test-audiences, so some minor re-edits and a re-captioning of the restaurant scene, and the plot was simplified down to one battle cruiser threatening the earth.

(The restaurant scene: Originally, those two characters were supposed to have been the emissaries from the two warring fleets, and they were going to have a peace conference over plates of pirogi.)

Frankly, hearing what the plot was supposed to be, I prefer it to the final re-edited version. Makes much more sense.
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Tony Fabris

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