Night at the Museum 2 characters- by MovieNight

Full-text transcript of the Night at the Museum 2 movie critique

Released on May 22nd of this year, it is the Night at the Museum sequel to the very highly successful blockbuster hit of 2006 starring Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Hank Azaria, Amy Adams and a huge ensemble cast. This movie has everybody in it. In the first movie, our protagonist, Larry Daley, played by Ben Stiller, becomes the night watchman at New York’s Natural History Museum, where the exhibits literally come alive at night. Fast forward a couple of years for the plot of the sequel, and we find that Larry’s old museum pals are being shipped away to live in storage underneath the National Mall in the Smithsonian Museum Archives. Larry has to travel to Washington, D.C. and do battle with the quick talking and goofy Pharaoh Kumara, played brilliantly by Hank Azaria for the mystical golden tablet that brings all of the exhibits to life. I haven’t seen the original until yesterday, so watching both movies back to back was a real treat. Ben Stiller is refreshing and pretty much the only role he’s able to play. Well, the slapstick hero with a heart of gold, although dreadfully underused, every member of the supporting cast does their share of bringing in the laughs. Having nearly every actor from the original movie reprising their role in this bigger and more adventurous sequel is always a great recipe for a successful movie. The characters developments from the previous film felt organic, and the new problems presented in the sequel didn’t feel like the usual Hollywood moneygrubbing like we’ve seen in so many other franchises. I felt that bringing the action of the Smithsonian was a great concept, allowing for many fun and exciting character additions. And as this is a family movie, I think the strategy worked wonderfully.

The action is nearly non-stop throughout the film with a playful and lighthearted tone, keeping everything kid friendly for the one hundred and five minute runtime. Unlike the first film, Stiller was very smartly cast opposite Amy Adams as the female romantic lead in this film, and she really shines through above the rest of the cast. This romantic subplot gives the movie a nice foundation that I felt the first movie kind of lacked. To be honest, I wasn’t expecting to enjoy this movie too much, but I genuinely laughed and smiled more than a few times while watching this movie, which can best be described as the ultimate kid’s fantasy. I especially loved how the film brought to life several famous American paintings. It’s an interesting and fun scene that you can’t help but smile at. Obviously, this movie’s a large ensemble cast is where it really shines, but I couldn’t help but feel this is also where the movie failed. Many of the characters, especially the trio of villains that Common Raw enlists to help him retrieve the tablet, seemed woefully underdeveloped and poorly utilized in this film, only getting a few lines each. There were several scenes where characters were haphazardly introduced just to deliver a single joke, and then it seems they were forgotten about for the rest of the film. This is in contrast to the original movie where I felt the core cast of characters meshed very well with each other on a related note. Sadly, Robin Williams, who was easily the most memorable character from the first film, is mostly absent from the sequel, making only minor appearances to open and close out the plot. So was a very fun and friendly family comedy that I think complemented the original film very nicely.

But let’s see what you guys had to say about Night at the Museum Battle of the Smithsonian. Ben Paul one said, I enjoyed the Battle of the Smithsonian, but mostly because I enjoyed relating the movie to my own Smithsonian visit and because I was in the mood for a cheesy, unintelligent comedy. Who knows what I’ll be in those moods again. Dan M nine sixty six writes Night at the museum to was utter crap. It was such an embarrassment to the first one as many of the jokes were generally not funny and most of the film was a slapstick comedy mess. I think it would be a good move for people under the age of 10. I love the first one, but this is a two thumbs down evil tea, Lip writes. I thought night at the museum, both the original and the sequel was cute. I enjoyed watching it and the visuals were quite impressive. Also, Amy Adams is always fun to watch. All right. Well, I got some complaints last week for changing up the rate of Madoc on you. So we’re returning to the old format. Now, the rate of Mattick will reflect the collective score between you and what I think of a movie. Now, the reviews on this movie were definitely mixed, but I think that most of you agreed that this is an above average film and the score. A seven definitely reflects that you guys thought it was a cool movie. I personally like to give it a six, maybe a seven. I think it’s pretty much where it should be.