Night at the Museum: Battle for the Smithsonian really isn’t very good. It’s unevenly directed and ironically unimaginative when it counts the most; and yet, for some reason, I can’t quite bring myself to hold that against it. Yes, it’s silly and awkward at times, but the film isn’t actively offensive and it doesn’t intentionally try to insult your intelligence - so I feel like I ought to cut it a little slack.
Ben Stiller returns as Larry Daley, the single father and security guard who, in the first film, discovered that a mysterious Egyptian artifact brought the exhibits in the New York Museum of Natural History to life every night. Now, three years later, Larry has left his friends in the Museum behind for fame and fortune as an infomercial entrepreneur.
The Museum’s Board of Directors wants to modernize their attractions and decides to transfer the exhibits to permanent storage beneath the Smithsonian. There the magical artifact revives an Egyptian prince named Kahmunrah, who’s bent on using it to resurrect an army from the underworld.
After receiving a desperate phone call from Owen Wilson’s diminutive cowboy Jedediah (where did he get the phone, how did he dial it, and how did he know the number to call?), Larry rushes to help. Joined by Amelia Earheart and Gen. George Custer, he’ll take the fight to the wicked pharaoh and his lieutenants, Al Capone and Ivan the Terrible, in a race against the sunrise.
Ben Stiller is charming, if unremarkable in the leading role. I enjoyed seeing him as a man in control, much more confident and capable than he was in the previous film. Larry’s a pro now, calm and calculating, often a step or two ahead of his dastardly and bumbling foes.
Amy Adams does the best she can with a rather one-note character. Her Amelia Earheart is a fast-talking, fun-loving feminist out for adventure and blessed with a sort of Hepburn-esque colloquial parlance that’s as irritating as it is endearing. This isn’t her greatest performance, but her exuberance still brightens the picture considerably.
On the other hand, Hank Azaria often brings the production to a standstill with his goofy and overzealous attempt to bring Kahmunrah to life. Azaria can be very funny, but his lisping portrayal of the slighted Egyptian prince (apparently an exaggerated and unflattering nod to Boris Karloff’s classic Mummy) doesn’t do him or the film any royal favors. It’s the kind of thing that could have flown with a bit more subtlety, but the comedic method here is about as sophisticated as beating the audience with a stick.
There are parts of the picture that work just fine – and the look of the production design is appealing and above average - but the overall effect is spotty at best. As you may have feared, the funniest bits (like Jonah Hill’s amusing cameo as a Smithsonian security guard) were already featured in the trailer. The comedy works best when the script highlights the primary characteristic these historic figures are remembered for and holds it up to the light of pop culture scrutiny. Unfortunately, this simplistic model also hobbles the film, always making it feels as if the producers went for the obvious jokes and the easiest solutions.
Nonetheless, the script wisely rushes to drop us into the heart of the action; and the first few reels feel a bit like a smart and snazzy caper film. Watching Larry deftly infiltrate the labyrinth of basements beneath the Smithsonian is surprisingly exciting and not entirely brainless.
There are a few lulls here and there, but the film moves along at a nice clip until everything comes to a crashing halt when Larry and Amelia visit the Lincoln Memorial and its namesake. This Lincoln may be majestic in stature, but he is utterly common in his speech and character.
I realize that the Night at the Museum films are all about reducing historical figures to relatable (and, unfortunately, one dimensional) caricatures, but as with Robin Williams’ bland Teddy Roosevelt, this reduction of Honest Abe (also voiced by Hank Azaria and animated by mediocre computer graphics) is just too casually irreverent. The bigger problem, though, is that there is nothing to distinguish this marble giant, save a few weak references to Lincoln’s well-known speeches.
The picture never recovers from this ill-advised misadventure. The final act, though buoyed by a truly nifty sword fight, is sunk by three or four needless gags that stop the movie in its tracks, utterly destroying its momentum. Things drag by for a further 15 minutes, finally wrapping up in a sloppy and unsatisfying conclusion.
Night at the Museum: Battle for the Smithsonian is rated PG, but parents may want to exercise caution before screening it for the youngest viewers. A number of monsters, like a giant octopus and a screeching pterosaur, stalk the halls of the Smithsonian after dark, and some of the villains, like the well-costumed and admirably executed Russian knights and underworld warriors, may be frightening to some children.
There is a lot of action and a fair amount of suspense, but no explicit or disturbing violence. Watch out for some instances of mild profanity and a cheeky reference to reaching “second base”. Finally, an irritating scene featuring a duo of spastically slapping monkeys may give rambunctious youngsters mischievous ideas.
Like its financially successful but artistically lackluster predecessor, this sequel to Night at the Museum doesn’t fully reach its potential, but it should appeal to kids and it might even make adults smile from time to time. I wouldn’t call it educational or even consistently entertaining, but it’s reasonable to think that it’s flashy (albeit paper-thin) characters might spark an interest in history and learning, and that’s a good thing.
Battle for the Smithsonian doesn’t offer much, but it doesn’t ask for much either. I’m certain that there are many better ways to spend 90 minutes of your life, but watching this film won’t make you or your children the worse for it A back-handed endorsement perhaps, but the best I can offer.
Caution Rating: 3
