Movies like the film in question are pretty critic proof. What my review is for anyone over the age of ten is more of a survival guide even though I’m approaching it like I do every film. Kids are going to want to see it and most parents aren’t going to bring them to the latest action spectacle. It’s bigger than the first film, certainly throws in as many historical references as it can, and has two monkeys join in on slapping Ben Stiller around as opposed to just one. Night at the Museum: Part Deux is a family film through and through, and doesn’t care if the parents in the audience will know it.

For those parents, brothers, sisters, and whoever that will be dragged into this, you have someone you can enjoy who gets a fair amount of screen time. This woman (along with Cyclops) made a Disney film from two years ago much more enjoyable than it needed to be. Amy Adams lights up the screen with enough sass and spunk to create one of the best performances of the summer with her take on Amelia Earhart. The girl is really picking her battles well and it’s now time she gets more starring roles in bigger films as she could make Twilight almost bearable. She may very well be one of the best actresses working today as she seems to have an understanding on how to create characters and make them flow with the film. Assisting her is Bill Hader’s very fun take on General George Armstrong Custer. He’s shallow and dim-witted which is a nice change from what we’re used to seeing from him. Steve Coogan returns as Octavius and delights the screen with comedic nobleness that is really harmless. Coogan is becoming one of the forgotten comedic talents of the screen and he’s no different here.

Too bad most of the cast isn’t as interesting as the ones mentioned above. Ben Stiller can be golden, but he’s as lifeless as the statues that surround him in this movie. He shifts through scene to scene without any personality or charm. It’s rugged to see him against Adams in their romance scenes as she carries the both of them. A colleague of mine suggested he’s created a new persona in bland do-gooder and I have to agree with him. The worst offender is a man who normally isn’t this bad, and that’s Hank Azaria. He plays three roles in this as The Thinker, the Abe Lincoln statue, and the part I’m targeting, Kah Mun Rah. Every time he speaks one hopes a Spartan comes to life so he’s murdered in glorious Zack Snyder fashion (which the film actually parodies.) Partially it’s due to the film extending every joke to the point of annoyance, but Azaria thinks he’s a statue of Liberace than a would-be Pharaoh. He gets two of the three characters he plays so well, and mucks up the main one so terribly he should carry rocks for renovations to the pyramids. The rest of the players are serviceable, with Robin Williams return to Teddy Roosevelt being fine. Owen Wilson is in Shanghai mode here, which isn’t bad while Ricky Gervais does a decent if stereotypical of the museum owner.

The movie is billed as a family comedy and it’s disheartening to say that for the adults much is left to be desired. There’s a silly gag involving Ben Stiller’s Larry Daley touching, talking and stealing one of his friends to the annoyance of Kahmunrah. It garners some chuckles at first but it overstays it’s welcome much like an unnecessary bit involving everyone BUT Ben Stiller catching onto Amy Adams being infatuated with him. The other jokes are just a lot of been there, done that seem to be in every single family comedy released. Really though, it’s not worth analyzing as is the supremely numb story that’s present. Yes, the film is what it is and it shouldn’t matter but this makes no bones about it’s predictability and sending everyone home happy. Although I do admit, the end of the movie is pretty interesting to the least. Being fair, director Shawn Levy and writers Thomas Lennon & Robert Ben Garant don’t do terrible work with this picture. They just don’t do anything memorable or exciting to engage the older patrons.

The film is marketed towards kids and on that account it gets the job done. For the adults, only the beautiful Amy Adams the reason they’ll be able to make it out of this one unscathed. The overall film isn’t anything atrocious and it does it’s job well to please the families. This isn’t a movie one can hate and call it the worst piece of poop to ever happen to the galaxy and the kids will be entertained at the very least. On that note it’s a harmless film and a success, albeit it fails to have any life of it’s own just like the statues that embody the halls of the Smithsonian.

5 out of 10

The Video

The film is presented in it’s original aspect ratio of 2.35:1, but again I was sent a screener and unfortunately cannot judge this properly.

The Audio

You get a 5.1 Dolby Digital soundtrack and 2.0 tracks in Spanish and French. Again, like the video the transfer cannot be judged properly as this isn’t a final copy.

Extras

Disc one kicks things off with a pair of commentaires. The first comes from director Shawn Levy who gives a very self-congratulatory track. He doesn’t really delve into much information outside of praising everyone but the credited screenwriters. If pretentiousness is your thing, this this track is for you.

A better, more informative track is with said writers Thomas Lemon and Robert Ben Garant. They casually discuss ideas unused and how they wished certain characters would have appeared differently. It’s a much better track, and worth a listen.

“The Curators of Comedy: Behind the scenes of Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian” is a standard promotional piece with interviews from the cast and crew.

Disc two comes equipped with “Monkey Business” which discusses the chimps used in the film. Mostly fluff, but catered to the monkey enthusiasts in life.

Featuring a much more crazier approach, “Primate Prima Donnas” comes up next and offers interviews with the monkey trainers themselves.

“The Secret Life of a Movie Star: Life Off Camera” is a short piece that’s nothing more than a ‘Cribs’ rip-off showcasing the lifestyles of the monkeys.

Also included are two DVD-Rom games “Monkey Slap” and “Able & Dexter’s Flights of Fancy”, both of which will entertain kids, but do little for adults. That actually sums up this second disc, which comes housed in it’s own case entired Monkey Mischief.

Truthfully, the features present are alright, but again the second disc is catered more for children than it is giving actual information on the film. With that said, it’s a little surprising we don’t get more information filled features for one of the biggest family films of the year.

6 out of 10

Overall

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian still remains a rather bland family affair that will still play well to the catered audience. It’s a decent family film, and one that kids will be happy with at the end of the day. In that respect, it’s accomplished what it set out to do. While I can’t comment on how the audio and video holds up, the extras are less than impressive outside of a decent commentary. Kids will be entertained, and really, the set sums up the entire film as well. Good for kids, pretty bland for everyone else.

DVD Overall Rating – 6 out of 10

Share

Save