Robin PottratzReview: Too man characters, subplots make
June 14th 2009 19:12
For all it ludicrous aspects (Mickey Rooney, i'm looking at you), the original Night of the Museum was actually a good time. So when I heard that a sequel was in the works...I was intrigued. The first one wasn't memorable...but still enjoyable, so I expected the same from the sequel Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian. The problem with this effort is that it is the same as the original...and then more...which is not always a good thing.
The Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C. is the largest museum in the country...and so it features a lot of artifacts and statues of a great number of famous historical figures...and Director Shawn Levy leaves no figure or artifact unmentioned...and as a result, Night at the Museum is overstuffed and exhausting to watch. Despite the best efforts of the actors, the film is as long and drawn out as an actual trip to the museum.
Ben Stiller returns as Larry Daly, the frightened night watchmen who survived the first trip to the museum but has since abandoned his post to head a company where he manufactures TV items like a glow in the dark flashlight. Upon a return to the Museum of Natural History, he learns that all of the exhibits are being moved to the Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C.
The next night, he receives a call from Jedidiah (Cowboy Owen Wilson) saying that they are all being attacked at the Smithsonian....and Larry springs into action. Then everything gets crazy. We learn that an evil Pharoah (Hank Azaria) is behind the attack, he eventually recruits famous villains from history to join his cause...villains like Ivan the Terrible (Christopher Guest), Napolean Bonaparte (Alain Chabat), Al Capone (Jon Bernthal)...and even Darth Vader and Oscar the Grouch.
Larry is told by the Pharoah to find the tablet from the first film, and he is joined by two new characters himself. General George Custer (Bill Hader), who tries to rally the troops trapped inside of a crate, and the best part of the film Amelia Earhart (played with 30's wit and gumption by Amy Adams) who accompanies Larry on his quest.
Next thing you know, they are jumping into paintings, talking to "The Thinker" statue, meeting the first all black flying regimen, stealing the Wright Brothers' plane, and talking to Abe Lincoln at the Lincoln Memorial.
This all results in the film being overstuffed and overlong. Ben Stiller is clearly phoning it in on this sequel after last year's triumph with Tropic Thunder. Amy Adams comes pretty close to making this film match the level of fun of its predecessor. All of the seemingly thousands of supporting players try...but it is all just too much.
The bright side is that Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian did take me back to when I visited the Smithsonian when I was younger. All of the visuals were pretty cool...but much like when I was a kid, when this trip to the museum was done...I was ready for a nap.
The Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C. is the largest museum in the country...and so it features a lot of artifacts and statues of a great number of famous historical figures...and Director Shawn Levy leaves no figure or artifact unmentioned...and as a result, Night at the Museum is overstuffed and exhausting to watch. Despite the best efforts of the actors, the film is as long and drawn out as an actual trip to the museum.
Ben Stiller returns (this time with Amy Adams as Amelia Earhart) in "Night of the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian"
Ben Stiller returns as Larry Daly, the frightened night watchmen who survived the first trip to the museum but has since abandoned his post to head a company where he manufactures TV items like a glow in the dark flashlight. Upon a return to the Museum of Natural History, he learns that all of the exhibits are being moved to the Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C.
The next night, he receives a call from Jedidiah (Cowboy Owen Wilson) saying that they are all being attacked at the Smithsonian....and Larry springs into action. Then everything gets crazy. We learn that an evil Pharoah (Hank Azaria) is behind the attack, he eventually recruits famous villains from history to join his cause...villains like Ivan the Terrible (Christopher Guest), Napolean Bonaparte (Alain Chabat), Al Capone (Jon Bernthal)...and even Darth Vader and Oscar the Grouch.
Larry is told by the Pharoah to find the tablet from the first film, and he is joined by two new characters himself. General George Custer (Bill Hader), who tries to rally the troops trapped inside of a crate, and the best part of the film Amelia Earhart (played with 30's wit and gumption by Amy Adams) who accompanies Larry on his quest.
Next thing you know, they are jumping into paintings, talking to "The Thinker" statue, meeting the first all black flying regimen, stealing the Wright Brothers' plane, and talking to Abe Lincoln at the Lincoln Memorial.
This all results in the film being overstuffed and overlong. Ben Stiller is clearly phoning it in on this sequel after last year's triumph with Tropic Thunder. Amy Adams comes pretty close to making this film match the level of fun of its predecessor. All of the seemingly thousands of supporting players try...but it is all just too much.
The bright side is that Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian did take me back to when I visited the Smithsonian when I was younger. All of the visuals were pretty cool...but much like when I was a kid, when this trip to the museum was done...I was ready for a nap.
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