Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian Review
I managed to get a copy of this movie, had some time to watch and review this film.
Synopsis:
When the Museum of Natural History is closed for upgrades and renovations, the museum pieces are moved into federal storage at the famous Washington Museums. The centerpiece of the film will be bringing to life the Smithsonian Institution, which houses the world’s largest museum complex with more than 136 million items in its collections, ranging from the plane Amelia Earhart (Amy Adams) flew on her non-stop solo flight across the Atlantic and Al Capone’s (Jon Bernthal) rap sheet and mug shot to Dorothy’s ruby slippers, Fonzie’s jacket from Happy Days, the still from M*A*S*H and Archie Bunker’s lounge chair from All in the Family. After stealing a security guard’s ID badge, Larry (Ben Stiller) slips into the Archives of the Smithsonian, where Kahmunrah, an evil Pharaoh will come to life with the reestablishing of a tablet as a magical force in the museum bringing the old exhibits (Such as Theodore Roosevelt and Dexter) and new exhibits (like General Custer and Al Capone) back to life, and in conflict with each other. Larry enlists the help of Amelia Earheart, who he develops a romantic interest in, and together they try to put everything back in order.
Source: IMDB
My review:
Finally a movie that’s a good and decent sequel to it’s original. I was surprised at the fact that this movie didn’t feel all too forced to be a sequel like most sequels I’ve seen. But I didn’t feel as much heart with this movie compared to the first. I would’ve wanted to get more from this film. Specially from the original cast like Owen Wilson, Robin Williams and Steve Coogan. It felt like they were sort of left out. I would have loved to see more of them. But overall it was pretty good. A definite must see for the family.
Other People’s Review from Amazon:
Most sequels either fail miserably at trying to “top” the original (“Miss Congeniality 2″ springs to mind), or succeed beyond all expectations (“Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan” is a good example).
“Night at the Museum 2, The Battle of the Smithsonian” hits neither of these extremes: it has no pretensions about being a great film. It seems the writers and producers just wanted to make a film that their audience would enjoy, and they succeeded. Certainly, the original film was better and more original in many respects, and there is lots of contuity with the first film, as many of the characters have returned. There are some notable additions to the cast, such as Amy Adams – who is superb as Amelia Earhart (as many of my fellow reviewers here have noted).
Yet, the scene stealer in the film though is not Ms. Adams, but Hank Azaria, who plays the Egyptian Pharaoh Kahmunrah: the evil and inept older brother of Ahkmenrah (the Pharaoh from the original film). Azaria’s Karloff-esque character is really well done. One of the best scenes in the film is when Kahmunrah and Ben Stiller’s character (Larry Daley) argue over the fate of Jedidiah (played by Owen Wilson). I heard a rising tide of belly laughs all around me as this scene progressed: a salute to the old time vaudeville comedic dialog routines, played to near perfection by two excellent actors. Laurel and Hardy would have been proud!
Kudos to the Smithsonian for the unprecedented access and support they provided to the producers of this film. I’ve visited the Washington Mall and Smithsonian Museums many times, and it was great to see them on the big screen, and great fun seeing the havoc and mayhem that special effects allowed the film’s characters to inflict upon our national treasures.
I like this film because it is honest with itself and its audience, and consistently delivers laughs and smiles. Is it a great film? No. Is it funny? Definitely. Is it a great way to spend a couple of hours with your better half, or the kids? Absolutely. For that reason I’ll give it Four Stars: enjoy!
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