By
Jenna Pitman
In “Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian” Ben Stiller returns to his role as Larry Daley, one time night-guard for a New York museum who is now a successful inventor and owner of a thriving company. On a routine visit to his old place of employment to chat with his memorable friends from the first movie, Larry learns that the museum is set for remodel and most of the exhibits will be shipped to Washington D.C. and the Smithsonian for storage.
The tablet at the heart of the last film’s script works its magic once more, bringing the whole of the Smithsonian to life after sun down. After a call for help from Jedediah (Owen Wilson), Larry rushes south to try and save the day. Once there he must outwit Kahmunrah, Ahkmenrah’s older brother (played by Hank Azaria) and meets the perky and adventurous Amelia Earhart (Amy Adams).
The movie was fun, the pacing quick and the humor frequent. The special effects were once again flawless, so much so that I found myself cringing as the characters crashed into or through one-of-a-kind artifacts and displays. Occasionally some of the slap-stick comedy seems a bit over the top but I’m sure children will be overjoyed by the wonky antics.
My disappointment was that more of the actors and actresses didn’t get larger parts. There’s little you can do when your cast is so many great and funny names but it just felt like some of them were wasted in small and marginal roles. I guess I was hoping that Larry’s old group would have had a larger part to play this time around.
Overall there was little you could fault, however. This was a well done movie with a tight script and a nice message. It did its job and there is little else you can ask of it.
Night at the Museum 2 was a fun ride for children with more than enough good laughs to keep adults entertained.
