Salt Lake Tribune Review

The appeal of the 2006 adventure “Night at the Museum” was the imaginative idea that things in a museum — from miniature dioramas of Roman soldiers to a giant T. Rex skeleton — could come to life, thanks to a magical Egyptian tablet.

The sequel, with the marquee-busting title “Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian,” extends that gimmick to America’s most beloved museum. And while the movie works as an extended infomercial for the Smithsonian Institution, “America’s Attic,” as popcorn entertainment it’s a disappointment.

We are introduced to Larry Daley, the museum guard who saved the day in the first movie (played by Ben Stiller), as his dreams have come true. He’s become a successful inventor and infomercial pitchman, but success has meant less time with his son, Nick (Jake Cherry), or visiting his old pals at the Museum of Natural History. One night, when he goes back to the museum, he learns that his beloved exhibits — including the diorama figures of the Roman Octavius (Steve Coogan) and cowboy Jedadiah (Owen Wilson) — are being crated and sent to storage at the Smithsonian.

Larry becomes determined to save his pals, so he heads to D.C. When he gets there, he learns that the Egyptian tablet has also made the trip — and is greatly coveted by the evil, and suddenly mobile, Egyptian despot Kahmunrah (played by Hank Azaria, affecting a Karloff-esque accent and an annoying lisp). Kahmunrah enlists some of the Smithsonian’s baddies, including Ivan the Terrible (Christopher Guest), to push his plans for global domination. Larry has to rally the good guys, who include figures of a blowhard Gen. George Custer (Bill Hader) and the go-getting Amelia Earhart (Amy Adams).

What follows is a jumble of gags involving museum pieces, ranging from Rodin’s “The Thinker” to Oscar the Grouch. (I’m not spoiling any jokes that weren’t in the movie’s commercials.) And while writers Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon, who wrote the first movie (and appear here as the Wright Brothers), land a few good laughs, most of the humor is overrun by returning director Shawn Levy’s special-effects overkill. You know something’s wrong when a cast of funny people — including Jonah Hill, Robin Williams (reprising Teddy Roosevelt) and “The Office’s” Mindy Kaling and Craig Robinson — are upstaged by a squirrel.

Maybe the movie would be more fun if the ancient Egyptian tablet could bring Ben Stiller to life. Stiller detaches himself from the movie, more content to riff on the action then admit he’s taking part in it. To compensate, Adams cranks the knob to full spitfire mode, thus stealing the movie.

For kids, the best thing about “Night at the Museum” is that it’s the cheapest and quickest tour of the Smithsonian you can take. Better an air-conditioned theater than a visit to Washington in the summer humidity.
-- Sean P. Means

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