Proves to be bigger and better than the first.
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009)
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Reviews Counted:158
Fresh:69
Rotten:89
Average Rating:5.1/10
Consensus: Night at the Museum: Battle at the Smithsonian is busy enough to keep the kids interested but the slapstick goes overboard and the special effects (however well executed) throw the production into mania.
Rated: PG [See Full Rating] for mild action and brief language.
Runtime: 1 hr 45 mins
Genre: Comedies
Theatrical Release:20-05-2009
Synopsis: Shawn Levy (CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN, JUST MARRIED) directs the sequel of his hit film NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM. Night guard Larry Daley (Ben Stiller), now a successful entrepreneur, returns to the Museum... Shawn Levy (CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN, JUST MARRIED) directs the sequel of his hit film NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM. Night guard Larry Daley (Ben Stiller), now a successful entrepreneur, returns to the Museum of Natural History to visit his friends--the exhibits that come to life at night--only to learn that they are being shipped off into deep storage at the Smithsonian Institution. To make matters worse, the exhibits at the Smithsonian, including the pharaoh Kahmunrah (Hank Azaria), are suddenly coming to life--and they aren’t at all happy about their new visitors. Determined to save his friends, Larry rushes to Washington, D.C., and makes his way into the inner workings of the largest museum complex in the world while Kahmunrah recruits the likes of Ivan the Terrible (Christopher Guest), Napoleon (Alain Chabat), and Al Capone (Jon Bernthal). Larry, meanwhile, finds himself with spunky Amelia Earhart (Amy Adams) as a co-conspirator and love interest, and General Custer (Bill Hader) leading the battle for the Smithsonian. The stakes are higher in this sequel, where even the paintings on the Smithsonian walls come to life at night. Stiller is his capable deadpan self as the now-successful Larry who finds purpose again while helping his friends, and Adams is spot-on as feisty, adventure-seeking Earhart, complete with period lingo. Azaria is a scene-stealer as Kahmunrah, who is menacing despite his lisp. Owen Wilson, Steve Coogan, Robin Williams, and Ricky Gervais also reprise their roles in this sequel, which is the first film to be shot at the Smithsonian. [More]
Starring: Ben Stiller, Amy Adams, Owen Wilson, Hank Azaria
Starring: Ben Stiller, Amy Adams, Owen Wilson, Hank Azaria, Robin Williams, Christopher Guest, Alain Chabat, Steve Coogan, Ricky Gervais, Bill Hader, Jon Bernthal
Director: Shawn Levy
Director: Shawn Levy
Screenwriter: Robert Ben Garant, Thomas Lennon
Producer: Shawn Levy, Chris Columbus, Michael Barnathan
Composer: Alan Silvestri
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Reviews for Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
The two short scenes that bring British comic Ricky Gervais into the movie as the stuffy museum administrator suggest the possibility of a third movie... A decent script surely is needed before that's given the go-ahead.
...most notable for the inventive new touches added which prove amusing diversions to the dull central throughline...It's kind of like the movie equivalent of a toddler's busy box.
[Levy is] successful enough, in fact, that kids may well pass on their next chance to see a movie -- just so they can visit a real museum, instead.
A dreadfully unfunny comedy, which is amazing considering all the comic talent in the cast.
It's bigger, noisier, shinier, and dumber, and it has no earthly reason to exist.
If there's one thing that a movie-going Mom or Dad understands, it's the look in the eyes of someone who's just going through the motions, and there's a lot of that going on in Night 2.
There is so much going on here, presented in such uninspired empty-calorie servings, that you grow bloated on the unending eye candy
Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure is a more enriching experience, and it features Joan Of Arc as an aerobics instructor.
It never quite finds its comic footing, but kids will probably love it--they might even learn a thing or two.
When this excessive and silly farce works -- roughly half the time -- it's thanks to the comic dynamic created by funny folk who can go riff-to-riff with Stiller.
The cheeky attitude and charming effects make it more entertaining than the original, notwithstanding some clumsy humans who almost break the spell.
Smithsonian only occasionally lives up to its wondrous, chaotic premise. Instead the film appears more delighted with tiresome improvisational acrobatics than generating a welcoming tidal wave of wonder.
Watching historical figures enact the cliches identified with the most simplistic versions of their images, I found myself yet once again echoing the frequent cry of Gene Siskel: Why not just give us a documentary of the same actors having lunch?
Latest News for Night at the Museum: Battle of the...
May 26, 2009:
Tune In to the Rotten Tomatoes Show This Week!
This week, The Rotten Tomatoes Show will be looking at the movies that opened over the weekend, with help from you (the Rotten Tomatoes community), the Current TV community, and... More...
May 25, 2009:
Box Office Guru Wrapup: Museum Terminates Salvation
Fox won the holiday battle of the sequels as the adventure comedy Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian debuted at number one over the long Memorial Day frame easily... More...
May 22, 2009:
Review Terminator Salvation, Night at the Museum 2, and Dance Flick on TV!
Did you miss last night's episode of the Rotten Tomatoes Show on Current TV? Watch it online here for slam-bang reviews of last weekend's Angels & Demons, The Brothers Bloom,... More...
May 21, 2009:
Critics Consensus: Terminator, Night Are So-So Sequels
This week at the movies, we've got deadly machines (Terminator Salvation, starring Christian Bale and Sam Worthington); historical hysterics (Night at the Museum: Battle of the... More...
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