Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian

What’s the Story?

Having left the halls of Manhattan's Museum of Natural History behind for a successful career designing and marketing products like a glow-in-the-dark flashlight, Larry Daley (Ben Stiller) is dismayed when he finds out that all of his museum pals are being shipped off to deep storage at the Smithsonian to make way for new high-tech exhibits. But soon a distress call from miniature cowboy Jed (Owen Wilson) brings Larry to D.C., where he must outsmart cranky ancient Egyptian Kahmunrah (Hank Azaria) if he wants to save his friends. With the help of spunky pilot Amelia Earhart (Amy Adams), Larry just might come through -- but not before the entire Smithsonian museum complex comes to chaotic, colorful life.

Is It Any Good?

Fans of the first Night at the Museum are sure to enjoy this fun, fast-paced sequel -- which has just as many impressive effects as the first and a slightly more upbeat (if not more original) story. Larry is no longer a sad-sack divorced dad but a successful businessman who just needs a little course correction to get back to doing what he really loves. And even though the basic premise -- museum exhibits come to life at night with the help of a magic Egyptian tablet -- is the same as in the first movie, moving the action to the Smithsonian means that everything takes place on an even grander scale. Here, it's not just dioramas and dinosaur skeletons that perk up when the sun goes down -- sculptures roam the hallways, paintings move (shades of Harry Potter), and airplanes soar.

Like the plot, Stiller's performance is pretty much identical to the first movie -- he's wry, dry, and expert at tossing off quips. Adams is a welcome addition as the perky, slang-talking Earhart (even though her romantic interest in Larry seems a bit forced); Saturday Night Live's Bill Hader is manically charming as a blustery General Custer; and Azaria turns Kahmunrah into a somewhat more peevish version of The Blue Raja, the dandified underdog he played in Mystery Men. Other fun cameos abound, but, frankly, kids probably won't notice or care -- they'll be too busy watching the living exhibits fight and frolic. Battle of the Smithsonian may not be destined for a museum itself, but it's plenty of fun for adventure-loving tweens.