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Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian

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Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009)

May. 21,2009
|
6
|
PG
| Adventure Fantasy Action Comedy
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Hapless museum night watchman Larry Daley must help his living, breathing exhibit friends out of a pickle now that they've been transferred to the archives at the Smithsonian Institution. Larry's (mis)adventures this time include close encounters with Amelia Earhart, Abe Lincoln and Ivan the Terrible.

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Rijndri
2009/05/21

Load of rubbish!!

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Stevecorp
2009/05/22

Don't listen to the negative reviews

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Dirtylogy
2009/05/23

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

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Kinley
2009/05/24

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

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bkoganbing
2009/05/25

In this sequel to Night At The Museum, Ben Stiller now a millionaire who does motivational infomercials still finds time to visit his old friends at the Museum of Natural History where he made their acquaintence while working as a night security guard there.But with his millions he can't stop changes as the Museum is now going for interactive exhibits and many are being packed away and sent to the National Archives, some for exhibit in the Smithsonian.So Stiller goes back into action and visits the archive which is lots of underground space between the Capitol and Lincoln Memorial.I wonder myself in both of these films was Stiller really visiting Madame Tussaud's with all the historical figures coming to life. Theodore Roosevelt's connection with the Museum Of Natural History is well known and Robin Williams is back as our rough riding 26th president. Others are back and new ones added. Hank Azaria is brilliant as the Egyptian prince whose incantation caused all these exhibits to come to life after sundown. He sounds like he was channeling Boris Karloff.Amy Adams is a feisty feminist role model Amelia Earhart who gets kind of interested in Stiller. They make a good team.As for them getting together. A gambit that Meet Joe Black and Bing Crosby's A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court used is applied here. You have to see the film to see what I mean.A few good laughs in this nice family entertainment film.

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arinryu
2009/05/26

Two words to summarize this movie: cheap and superficial. Many of the characters are simply too annoying and too 1-dimensional to watch. Most of the characters do not represent (or sometimes are a total misrepresent) the actual historical figures whose names this movie borrowed. The plot is so predictable and lame. The only good thing is the computer graphic. There is no story or character development. The dialogue is lame. The jokes are lame.There are many characters that annoyed me but the worst one is Amelia Earhart's character, which is extremely dumb and annoying. I almost couldn't stand her nonstop babbling in the first 20 minutes she appeared. Judging from the reviews and discussion threads, all we remember about Amelia Earhart is her ass, her tight pants, and her urge to flirt and kiss for no reason (certainly not something I would want my kids to watch). Shame on the writers for abusing Amelia Earhart's name like this. In fact, the only two female characters in this movie are really lame and clingy (which is again the total opposite of their actual historical characters).Everything was so predictable that I was just sitting here on waiting for it to be over so I don't have to watch anymore of the awkward, forced flirting scenes. This is the most boring and annoying movies I have ever watched.

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Python Hyena
2009/05/27

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009): Dir: Shawn Levy / Cast: Ben Stiller, Amy Adams, Owen Wilson, Hank Azaria, Robin Williams: Every bit as stupid as the first film with virtually the same plot structure. Ben Stiller left his night watchman days to be an inventor until he learns that his old museum pals are being shipped away. He springs into action to save his historical friends plus battle new enemies. Directed by Shawn Levy with creative special effects where historical figures and creatures come to life. This of course, has been done before in better movies. Levy has directed better comedies such as Just Married and Cheaper by the Dozen. Stiller sleepwalks through a role that seems more like a recital this time out. He runs the same drill, encounters similar problems, and saves the same people. It is enough to draw a yawn from the best of us. Amy Adams appears as Amelia Earhart but the role is more or less a prop. Owen Wilson and Hank Azaria also return as miniatures but their bickering is getting tiresome especially since their comic talents have been employed to greater success to better films. Robin Williams also returns as Theodore Roosevelt riding in on that horse with no script. The special effects are much better this time around but to what degree? Bigger budget doesn't necessarily mean better film. In this case it's just as bad. Score: 2 / 10

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Holden Caine
2009/05/28

Larry Daley (Ben Stiller), the somewhat reluctant security guard assigned to keep a museum, filled with exhibits that come to life at night, secure returns for a sequel to the first film, in which he visits the Smithsonian museum to rescue some of his friends that have been shipped out to its archives due to the museum manager (Ricky Gervais)'s desire to replace them with modern, interactive exhibits in a bid to attract visitors. That mischievous monkey from the first film also steals the tablet that gives the exhibits life as his latest prank. Joining him for the sequel are some familiar faces. Hank Azaria of Simpsons fame makes an appearance as the over-the-top villain of the film, clearly taking a leaf out of Michael Palin's book by effectively replicating the latter's portrayal of Pontius Pilate in Life of Brian, what with the lisp and bizarre facial expressions et cetera. Due to this similarity the comedic quality of this character is limited - provided Monty Python's classic has not passed you by - but he still retains enough charisma to make him watchable. Amy Adams features as the adventurous Amelia Earhart, whom Larry Daley meets as he runs through the chaotic archives, and together they blunder around the Smithsonian, all the while being pursued by typically useless Ancient Egyptian security guards. This section of the film drags on a little but the tension builds as Daley is given a time limit to find a combination to open a door to Ancient Egypt in order to save his cowboy friend Jedediah (Owen Wilson). Einstein bobble-heads, a statue of Abraham Lincoln, Napoleon, Ivan the Terrible, Al Capone and others encounter them on their way, and eventually, in time to save Jedediah, Daley returns and wages a battle against the evil pharaoh and another bunch of useless Ancient Egyptians that have emerged from the portal the pharaoh opened up. The question of 'why did lisp pharaoh want to open the portal so badly if all it bore was yet more incompetent guards?' remains, but the producers add a deliberate action sequence to take your mind off it straight away. The outcome is predictable, but the heart of the film shows itself a few moments later as the exhibits are returned and it becomes obvious that Daley has developed certain feelings towards Amelia and is upset to see her return to a lifeless eternity in the archives of the Smithsonian. Daley leaves his job as CEO of his own company in order to return to the museum, where business is flourishing courtesy of the active nightlife of the exhibits becoming common knowledge (surely people noticed a living, breathing mammoth enter the museum at the end of the first film, and would therefore have spread the word already? No?), and there meets an Amelia Earhart lookalike, blatantly played by the same actress disguised by a pair of spectacles. Larry isn't fooled, though, and the film ends with him asking her whether they are related, receiving a disappointing answer. Then, we have another scene portraying the prosperous nature of the museum, and the film ends. This is a perfectly conclusive ending to the film, and the production company's decision to make it a trilogy seems unnecessary.From a critical point of view, the film has its flaws. The plot is nothing special, the villain is frustrating at times, it offers little more than the first film in terms of subject matter and the acting is far from outstanding, but none of these problems will affect the main target audience, children looking for a fun family movie to enjoy. In that respect it's good, the highlight comedy-wise being Larry's argument with Brunden (Brundon?), the overweight Smithsonian security guard played by Jonah Hill. For adults, there's little to enjoy about Night At The Museum 2, but if you're in need of a family movie to get the kids out of the way while you're doing important business, this could be your movie. If you're in that situation, rent this. If not, then there's better quality cinema out there. 6/10.

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