Men in Black 2

Colour, 35mm
USA, 2002, 89 min
Section: Horizons

Synopsis

The sci-fi comedy Men in Black (1997), inspired by the comic strip by Lowell Cunningham and awarded an Oscar for make-up (Rick Baker, David LeRoy Anderson), returns to the big screen, again directed by Barry Sonnenfeld. Four years have passed since K and J – agents of MIB, a non-official organisation keeping tabs on elusive extra-terrestrials on Earth – averted a huge intergalactic catastrophe. Back then agent J was just becoming established in the organisation, whilst his older colleague K returned to a comfortable civilian life and worked for a post office. During a routine investigation, however, J uncovers a conspiracy led by the evil cytothian monster Serleena, masquerading as a sexy model promoting luxury underwear. Serleena, however, besieges the MIB building and takes its staff as hostages. J is therefore forced to seek the assistance of the only man who can help him resolve the situation – the now comfortably settled K.

About the director

Barry Sonnenfeld (b. 1953, New York) studied cinematography at New York University and established himself as a director of photography with the hour-long ecological documentary In Our Water (1982). He received an Emmy for his television film Out of Step (1985, dir. Jeffrey Hornaday), and was noted for his collaboration with the Coen brothers (Blood Simple, 1983; Raising Arizona, 1987; Miller´s Crossing, 1990). He debuted as a director with the black comedy The Addams Family (1991) and also directed its sequel, Addams Family Values (1993), the comedies For Love or Money (1993) and Get Shorty (1995), the sci-fi spectacle Men in Black (1997), the adaptation of the outlandish television series Wild Wild West (1999) and Big Trouble (2002). He also produced Steven Soderbergh’s crime drama Out of Sight (1998).