I was among the moviegoers that saw Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian on Memorial Day, its opening weekend. I usually don’t like sequels, but made an exception to see this one since my four year old son had been asking since seeing the “Fire Powa” commercial.
Will loved the first one, so I figured he would like this one and I was right. This sequel follows former museum night watchman Larry Daley (Ben Stiller). The reason he is a former night watchman is his invention business has taken off. However, his “friends” at the museum need him. Some of the exhibits are being moved from the New York museum to the archives of the Smithsonian.
Larry comes to the rescue when he learns that Egyptian potentate Kahmunrah (Hank Azaria), the evil brother of Egyptian pharaoh Ahkmenrah (Rami Malek) from the first film, wants to steal the golden tablet so he can open the gate to the underworld and unleash havoc. To do this, he imprisons Jedediah (Owen Wilson) and friends.
With new characters Amelia Earhart (Amy Adams) and General George Armstrong Custer (Bill Hader) along for the ride, Larry sets out to save his friends and the world. Al Capone (Jon Bernthal), Napoleon Bonaparte (Alain Chabat) and Ivan the Terrible (Christopher Guest) show up to side with Kahmunrah. If Kahmunrah really wanted some power, one has to question why he didn’t call in Hitler or Stalin, but maybe that would have made it too scary for the kids.
Azaria is hilarious as Kahmunrah and he also voices Abe Lincoln and The Thinker. Owen Wilson, of course, is wonderful as the pint sized, but rowdy Jedediah. Robin Williams, as Theodore Roosevelt has a few small roles, but I wonder if his recent heart surgery had an effect on the size of his role. Amy Adams’ Amelia Earhart almost steals the show from Stiller and Azaria.
During the film, you get to see a few of the prized possession of the Smithsonian, such as Archie Bunker’s chair and Amelia Earhart’s plane. While some other films have had small scenes shot in the Smithsonian, this is the first major film to use the museum(s) as a setting.
The film is rated PG. The Internet Movie Database said there was mild violence (there were fight scenes between the characters) and “brief language,” which I don’t remember. There are a couple of innocent kisses between Larry and Amelia. I think this is a great movie for both kids and adults, something that is often hard to find in today’s world.
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