Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian is by all measures an extraordinary film. It contains both a little of everything and a lot of something. The everything component is variety and humor. The something is imagination.
Ben Stiller has done it again; injected himself as a mainstay in mainstream American culture. He has done more to revive curiosity about museums than anyone else in decades. What school child would not want to travel to the Smithsonian or to any museum of natural history after watching this movie? The loss of Dick Van Dyke and Mickey Rooney has indeed lowered the quality of the humour and the acting, that much is clear. Even so, one cannot fault the writers (Stiller being the top-billed screenwriter) for trying something new. This is what sequels normally lack. Choosing to integrate historical characters from the first Night at the Museum into the second installment and changing the location are strokes of brilliance. Amy Adams' performance as Amelia Earhart is worth a ticket at any price. Her charm and nonchalance are refreshing.
Nonetheless, what would a movie critic do without the option to criticize any given film? Owen Wilson comes across as channeling his inner fatherliness in this movie to a rather nauseating point. His usually stunning humour has vanished due to under-written lines for his role. Hank Azaria stopped being funny ten years ago, yet seems to appear and reappear incessantly in almost every comedy film. What makes him funny? Is it his offbeat appearance? Perhaps it is his forced lisp that could annoy speech therapists globally? Or maybe it is his audacity to play the role of an Egyptian Pharaoh without any regard to the importance of the historical character himself. He seems to have put on an exhibition of his own mediocrity rather than having enhanced the persona of an ancient Egyptian virtual god. That being said, Bill Hader, Saturday Night Live veteran and recent star of Adventureland and Superbad, steals the show as General Custer. His rendition of Custer’s post Battle of Little Big Horn PTSD is fascinating and hilarious. Thanks goodness Robin Williams "old zipper-chest" has recovered from his heart attack to enjoy and promote the film.
Overall, I enjoyed Night at the Museum 2 half as much as the first. If you are searching for the adolescent smash hit of the summer, look no further. For an adult comedy or drama keep waiting for Iron Man 2 or Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.
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