Movie Review: Night at the Museum 2
In Night At The Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, we once again meet meet up with Larry Daley (Ben Stiller) and this time he isn’t a struggling single father, but instead the CEO of his own company that specializes in making little gadgets (like that clapping light idea he had in the first movie). Larry is a busy dude and doesn’t have time to do much else but stare at his Blackberry and talk business. He still has a soft spot for the Museum of Natural History and he is quite upset when he finds out that many of old friends from the museum are being put in a big box and shipped to a storage room in the basement of the Smithsonian in Washington, DC. Soon after he learns the heartbreaking news, Larry gets a phone call from his old buddy Jebediah Smith (Owen Wilson) who informs him that the gang is under siege by an Egyptian pharoah named Kahmunrah (Hank Azaria). Larry heads out to DC where he plans on returning to his humble roots and saving his old pals from the impending danger.
I remember way back in the winter of 2006, on a cold, snowy night, going with my buddy to the Paramount Theatre in Toronto and seeing a late showing of Night At The Museum on the IMAX screen and absolutely loving the movie from start to finish. Yeah, it wasn’t Academy Award-winning cinema but it was enjoyable, funny and really helped you escape reality for a couple of hours and have a few laughs. In that year, I would say Night At The Museum was one of the movies that I was expecting the least and got the most.
In Night At The Museum 2, we are getting a movie with sort of the same formula, but in many ways, it seemed to miss the mark. It’s more or less the same movie, but there just seemed to be something lackiing in the movie as a whole. I liked the movie but didn’t walk out of the theatre loving it, as I did the first installment. For starters, Larry seemed like one of those likeable losers the first time around, but this time, he kind of seemed less appealing, for some reason. Maybe it was his newfound confidence. Maybe it was the Blackberry. I’m not sure but he wasn’t really the same guy as movie number one.
I also found some of that witty (and not so witty) dialogue that has become a part of many Ben Stiller characters didn’t work this time. He did it with the Ricky Gervais character. Then with the Jonah Hill character. Then with Hank Azaria. Then with the monkey. Then with two monkeys. It just seemed to be too much, too drawn out and not as funny this time around (although the Jonah Hill stuff was okay).
Speaking of Jonah Hill, he makes an appearance but sadly, I really found his character was sadly underused. He pretty much appears in one of the more memorable moments in the movie and I kept waiting for his character to reappear and somehow turn into Larry’s sidekick but it never happened. Hell, even Darth Vader makes a brief cameo and he probably could have and should have been used more effectively. Vader would have ripped that pharoah to shreds. A fight with Larry and a saber-yielding Vader would have been great.
Finally, there is the pharoah, Kahmunrah. He spoke with a lisp. Pretty much destroyed any credibility he had as a villain for the rest of the movie. He should have been more menacing. He should have been scarier. Instead, he became a guy that you knew Larry would eventually take down with relative ease. Hell, I’m sure that the tiny Jebediah and his Roman soldier sidekick could have eventually whipped his ass.
In the end, I found that Night At The Museum 2 was probably more geared towards children, which is fine, but I think they took some of the edge off the movie that could have made it a much better film. It wouldn’t have hurt to at least have make Kahmunrah a bit more menacing. I’m sure the kiddies could handle it. I’m sure they could have handled a bit more Jonah Hill. Night At The Museum 2 is definitely not as good a movie as the first one but it wasn’t too bad either. I just went through a few things that I didn’t like but the movie did have some moments of excitement, it did have a few laughs and it had the return of most of the gang from the first film, so it isn’t a complete right off. I just wish the characters they added would have had a bit more significance in the movie. Instead, we got an Egyptian pharoah with a speach impediment, a couple of giant statues stomping around, an Einstein bobblehead and a twisted-balloon dog. Not the greatest combination to add to a movie opening on Memorial Day Weekend. Mind you, that Amelia Earhart (played by Amy Adams) wasn’t too hard on the old eyes. I guess it’s good for some family fun but just don’t expect the magic that the first film seemed to have because you probably won’t feel it. (7 out of 10)
Comments
One Comment on Movie Review: Night at the Museum 2
-
Jason T on
Sun, 24th May 2009 5:14 am
Yeah I think i can agree with your review. I however was quite disappointed with this movie. I went into the 1st one thinking it would be awful and left loving it, purchasing it on dvd when released. I left this one kind of wishing I had not wasted my time in the cinema and just watched it at home…
Tell me what you're thinking...
and oh, if you want a pic to show with your comment, go get a gravatar!
Follow Us
Support Us
Click here to buy posters!
