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Movie Review: Night at the Museum sequel, 5 out of 10
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Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian movie poster
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian gets a nice round 5 out of 10. As usual, this review will be as spoiler-free as possible; though for a comedy like this there is not much that could be given away. Let’s look at the Good, the Bad, and the Bottom Line.
The Good
Visually, this movie looked very good. There were a surprising number of special effects beyond the obvious ones of bringing museum exhibits to life. These weren’t groundbreaking or any new technology, but they were pulled off very well and are quite impressive.
The humorous parts of the movie were very funny. Sadly, there were not nearly enough of them (get to that in a minute). The Las Vegas Film Examiner was spot on when she said Hank Azaria stole the movie. Had he not brought a spectacular character to life, this movie would rate around a 3 out of 10. Azaria played Kahmunrah. The best scene involves a very funny dialogue between his character and Ben Stiller’s near the end involving an hourglass. Again, the whole scene was made by Azria’s performance.
There are laughs to be had. The humor is very similar to that of the first film, but this installment really amped up the cast size and gave a lot of new characters a chance to steal scenes. The computer generated Cupids (played by the Jonas brothers) were also very funny. Stiller was a more pivotal and funny character in the first film.
The Bad
First of all, the movie took FOREVER to get going. By the time you got to the first truly funny scene with Kahmunrah shouting, “I have come back to LIFE!” the audience felt the same way as if they were brought back from the dead; that is: the first 20-25 minutes of the movie. We don’t care that Larry Daley has a new business that is doing really well. We get it! He’s no longer the night guard at the museum and something has to bring him back for this adventure…get on with it already!
Secondly, the jokes were WAY over the heads of the kids. The biggest laugh from the kids was when one of the characters used the word “damn.” Amelia Earhart as the main sidekick to Larry Daley (Stiller)! How many parents had to explain to their 8-12 year-olds who that was after they sat through the movie enjoying the character but having no idea who she was in real life? Good family comedies will have plenty of jokes for the kids and a decent number that the adults will understand but won’t confuse the kids. This film had far too many jokes that the adults would get and the kids would be baffled by. They might as well have made the film edgier, slapped a PG-13 rating on it and marketed it as a comedy for teens and adults. Take a look at the first two Shrek films. Those had plenty of kid jokes and loveable characters, with just enough “hidden” jokes for the adults. Those were well-done family comedies.
On a side note, the Amelia Earhart character was written very well and Amy Adams did a fantastic job playing her, but there have to be a ton of other characters to pick from that kids could connect with.
The movie was too long with long droughts from the comedy. The couple of problems were: the time it took to get the story going, and trying to get too complicated with the story. Chop the time it takes to get to the Smithsonian and bring characters to life in half and you solve most of this issue. Solve the rest of the issue by cutting the scenes that slowed the pace of the film (like when Larry Daley and Amelia Earhart were romantically flying over D.C. in a Wright brothers plane).
The Bottom Line
Yes, this is the first real family movie of the summer. If you, or your kids, are really anxious to go see a family comedy, then this one will suffice. However, for the majority of you out there this is a solid rental in a few months (probably be released before the Christmas holiday season). The first film was better because it was something new, Stiller was funnier, and the smaller cast of characters didn’t overwhelm the younger kids.
For another take on this film check out reviews by: Denver Film Community Examiner
Check out some other reviews:X-men Origins: Wolverine, Angels & Demons, Terminator Salvation, Star Trek, and Land of the Lost.
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