Night At the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (20th Century Fox)
Comes Back To Life
Who knew that a sequel to the very successful movie Night At the Museum could come out and be fresh, interesting and entertaining but it is! Ben Stiller returns as Larry Daley, the night watchman turned entrepreneur, and he is the core of the film. Amy Adams and Hank Azaria are new to the cast and they add a lot of pop and pizzazz.
The plot has Larry trying to keep the old gang from the first museum movie together for the second. A lot of the characters have been boxed up for storage at the Smithsonian so Larry devises a plot to rescue them. While at the Smithsonian trying to rescue the old gang he bumps into Amelia Earhart (Adams) and Kahmunrah (Azaria).
Larry and Amelia have a flirtation thing going on which adds to the fun of the film. Plus Kahmunrah has a lisp that makes his character hysterically funny. Throw in some bobble headed Einsteins, a trio of singing cherubs and Al Capone (Jon Bernthal) and you have a crew that will hold your interest from the beginning of the movie till the end.
Plus you still have Robin Williams as Teddy Roosevelt, Owen Wilson as a cowboy named Jedediah, and Steve Coogan as a Roman centurion named Octavius. These actors all give their share of entertainment too.
The great thing about this movie is that it is good clean fun. You can take the kids, your parents, even the preacher to see this one. You dont have to worry about anything. It is all aimed at the family but still is interesting and entertaining in a non-bland way.
Ben Stiller is the perfect center for the film. He can make it all look like fun whether it be having a monkey slap his face or flying the Wright Brothers first plane from Kitty Hawk. He seems to be having a good time and that makes the audience have a good time.
The movie is rated PG for mild violence.
If you think you have seen everything a museum with characters coming to life has to offer, well think again. There is life left in this franchise and the sequel is just as good if not better than the original.
I scored Night At the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian a treasured 7 out of 10.
