Just another Night at the Museum

Battle of the Smithsonian

Certification: PG

Starring: Ben Stiller, Amy Adams, Hank Azaria, Owen Wilson, Steve Coogan, Bill Hader, Mizuo Peck, Robin Williams, Ricky Gervais

Director: Shawn Levy

Genre: Fantasy, Comedy

JUST as quickly as Ben Stiller's ingenuity brought worthy respect for himself, it has just as quickly dissipated with a repeat performance.

Not that anyone was betting on him to conceive another brilliant movie like Tropic Thunder, but with the sequel of Night At The Museum, it's as if he didn't even try.

Though this isn't completely his fault since he didn't direct or write Battle of the Smithsonian, but it is hard to believe that he had no say whatsoever in the production of the movie. The story takes place a couple of years after Larry Daley (Stiller) has quit his job as a night guard at the museum because his own business of small inventions, like glow-in-the-dark flashlight, has taken off; making him a successful entrepreneur.

He still goes back to the museum once in a while but his visits have become few and far in between. Coming back this time he is greeted by storage crates instead of his waxwork pals. Bumping into the museum director, Dr McPhee (Ricky Gervais) informs him that all the longtime exhibits are to be shipped to Washington DC's Federal Archives.

Larry can't do much to stop this from happening as he busies himself with his business. But then he receives a distress call from Jedediah Smith (Owen Wilson) from the Federal Archives that the magical tablet has awakened the Egyptian ruler Kahmunrah (Hank Azaria), who is bent on taking over the world.

Without delay, Larry rushes off to Washington where he encounters the archives' security guard Brandon (a short cameo by the always funny and always welcomed Jonah Hill) and steals his tag to gain access to the storage floors.

As a sequel, the movie overflows with big names and bigger special effects. Statues and bobbleheads come to life, paintings on the wall offer alternate worlds, and to every fangirl's dream, the Jonas Brothers show up as three little singing cupids. Well, not literally, but a reaction is almost a definite effect. The Smithsonian is one of the main attractions of this movie, but that doesn't mean cinemagoers are going to learn a thing or two about history. Accuracy and logic aren't exactly the main concerns, especially when Kahmunrah speaks in a lisping British aristocratic accent.

However, Azaria as the Egyptian pharaoh is one of the highlights of the movie. Like Williams, a master of voices, Azaria gives a hilarious and entertaining main villain. He also lends his voice to Abraham Lincoln and The Thinker, whose Bronx accent may or may not have been a little insulting.

Amy Adams impersonating the famed aviatrix with a screwball-heroine twist is perhaps the best character. She is the only one who is really giving acting a go, portraying Amelia as charming, likeable and a delight to watch.

But there's no way she can save the entire script from being lazy and brainless. It's as if the main concern of director Shawn Levy was to just reproduce the first movie with a few new faces and more computer generated images to make it fresh again. Even the jokes fail to stimulate as they feel more like an afterthought. The writers must have tried hard to be original while mixing in pop culture with historical characters that the end product feels fragmented and rushed; and often with lack of continuity in story progression. And with so many new players involved, the older talents like Steve Coogan and Robin Williams have nowhere to shine and no way to form a connection, or make the audience care. But no matter the criticism or the reviewer, a family film always stands boldly on its own for its intended audience. Battle of the Smithsonian will still be a million-dollar success, even with a weak plot.

Reviewer's Rating: 5 / 10

The Brunei Times