How Come My Museum Isn't This Much Fun?

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. Security guard Larry Daley (Ben Stiller) infiltrates the Smithsonian Institute in order to rescue Jedediah (Owen Wilson) and Octavius (Steve Coogan), who have been shipped to the museum by mistake. The centrepiece 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 rap sheet and mug shot to Dorothy's ruby red slippers, Fonzie's jacket from Happy Days and Archie Bunker's lounge chair from All in the Family in Night At The Museum : Battle For The Smithsonian.

When his plastic pals, the exhibits who come to life at New York's Museum of Natural History, are shipped off to the vaults of the Smithsonian Museum, former night guard Larry Daley (Stiller) heads off to try to save them. Finding himself up against a reanimated Egyptian ruler Kahmunrah (Azaria), he joins forces with irrepressible Amelia Earhart (Adams). Night at the Museum 2 is a fistful of family fun... brimming with amusing lines, great effects and a series of smart cameo performances. The original was a surprise hit when it was released a few years ago, and, smartly, the filmmakers have hardly altered the template at all, with pretty much all of the key characters returning for round two. If you remember the first movie, reluctant night security guard Larry Daley (Stiller) was rather surprised to find that when night fell, the exhibits at the museum came to life. Rather a shock - but good ol' Larry managed to sort things out (something to do with an Egyptian artifact) and ended up buddies with the fun-loving exhibits. Years later it is sequel time, and with the majority of the exhibits freighted off to the labyrinthine subbasements of the Smithsonian in Washington DC it is up to Larry - now a sort-of successful businessman - to try to save the day as even more exhibits start coming to life. This time round Robin Williams (as Teddy Roosevelt) and Ricky Gervais (as the museum manager) only get a couple of scenes. But the good news is that Luke Wilson and Steve Coogan (as miniature cowboy Jedediah and miniature Roman General Octavius respectively) are back and they are in the thick of the action. And while Night at the Museum 2 is a whole bunch of fun, part of its problem is that there are just too many characters flying around... Hank Azaria is spot-on as the evil lisping Pharaoh, while Amy Adams is spunky and sexy as Amelia Earhart. But also on hand are reanimated versions of General Custer (Bill Hader), Al Capone (Jon Bernthal), Ivan the Terrible (Christopher Guest), Abe Lincoln (also Hank Azaria), Napoleon (Alain Chabat), a giant squid and a whole lot of other animals and exhibits.Yet when this movie heads into action overdrive it is spectacular... to the extent that poor old Ben Stiller sort of gets left behind in the mayhem. But worry not - it still amounts to great fun for all of the family. It might be broad, mainstream entertainment, but there are also moments to cherish (especially when Darth Vader and Oscar the Grouch from The Muppets get rejected as not evil enough to join the Pharaoh's gang).There's even a nod to the indie comedy scene with a brief cameo from Jonah Hill (Superbad) as a Smithsonian security guard.

What really sparkles here are the special effects but sadly the script could have done with some more work. Kids are well served with slapstick hi-jinks and mild peril but there are too few laugh out loud moments to keep adults entertained. There’s something patronizing and apologetic about Ben Stiller’s performance that does annoy at times – and I’m a fan of his - but Ricky Gervais, Hank Azaria and Amy Adams revel in their roles and really do give their all. Washington and The Smithsonian are great locations for this sequel which is a nice twist on original movie, although there are so many ideas batted around here that it can’t help but feel a bit busy every now and again. Using works of art and sculptures as well as standard statue exhibits is a great idea and works well. Also, if you liked the monkey from the first film, he’s back… and he’s got a friend too. Over all this is enjoyable but forgettable stuff. Expect a three-quel. Highly entertaining. This gets a 3 on my "Go See" scale.