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Movies / Upcoming / Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian

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

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Reviews Counted:158

Fresh:69

Rotten:89

Average Rating:5.1/10

Consensus: Night at the Museum: Battle at the Smithsonian is busy enough to keep the kids interested but the slapstick goes overboard and the special effects (however well executed) throw the production into mania.

Australian Rating: TBC

Runtime: 1 hr 45 mins

Genre: Comedies

Australian Theatrical Release:
May 21, 2009 Wide

US Box Office: $177,118,775

Synopsis: Shawn Levy (CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN, JUST MARRIED) directs the sequel of his hit film NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM. Night guard Larry Daley (Ben Stiller), now a successful entrepreneur, returns to the Museum... Shawn Levy (CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN, JUST MARRIED) directs the sequel of his hit film NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM. Night guard Larry Daley (Ben Stiller), now a successful entrepreneur, returns to the Museum of Natural History to visit his friends--the exhibits that come to life at night--only to learn that they are being shipped off into deep storage at the Smithsonian Institution. To make matters worse, the exhibits at the Smithsonian, including the pharaoh Kahmunrah (Hank Azaria), are suddenly coming to life--and they aren’t at all happy about their new visitors. Determined to save his friends, Larry rushes to Washington, D.C., and makes his way into the inner workings of the largest museum complex in the world while Kahmunrah recruits the likes of Ivan the Terrible (Christopher Guest), Napoleon (Alain Chabat), and Al Capone (Jon Bernthal). Larry, meanwhile, finds himself with spunky Amelia Earhart (Amy Adams) as a co-conspirator and love interest, and General Custer (Bill Hader) leading the battle for the Smithsonian. The stakes are higher in this sequel, where even the paintings on the Smithsonian walls come to life at night. Stiller is his capable deadpan self as the now-successful Larry who finds purpose again while helping his friends, and Adams is spot-on as feisty, adventure-seeking Earhart, complete with period lingo. Azaria is a scene-stealer as Kahmunrah, who is menacing despite his lisp. Owen Wilson, Steve Coogan, Robin Williams, and Ricky Gervais also reprise their roles in this sequel, which is the first film to be shot at the Smithsonian. [More]

Starring: Ben Stiller, Amy Adams, Owen Wilson, Hank Azaria

Starring: Ben Stiller, Amy Adams, Owen Wilson, Hank Azaria, Robin Williams, Christopher Guest, Alain Chabat, Steve Coogan, Ricky Gervais, Bill Hader, Jon Bernthal

Director: Shawn Levy

Director: Shawn Levy
Screenwriter: Robert Ben Garant, Thomas Lennon
Producer: Shawn Levy, Chris Columbus, Michael Barnathan
Composer: Alan Silvestri
Studio: 20th Century Fox

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Reviews for Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 >> >|
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All up it's Levy's best work so far and while I realise that's faint praise, it's far from being damning.

Full Review Source: Sydney Morning Herald | comment Comment
05/24/09
Sandra Hall
Sandra Hall
Sydney Morning Herald
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The Toy Story-esque plot could be written on the femur of dormouse and some scenes still lean towards inanity. But, in the main, this is a funnier and more coherent slice of kids' entertainment.

Full Review Source: Time Out Sydney | comment Comment
05/22/09
Derek Adams
Derek Adams
Time Out Sydney
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Proves to be bigger and better than the first.

Full Review Source: FILMINK (Australia) | comment Comment
05/21/09
Amy Wheeler
Amy Wheeler
FILMINK (Australia)
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The two short scenes that bring British comic Ricky Gervais into the movie as the stuffy museum administrator suggest the possibility of a third movie... A decent script surely is needed before that's given the go-ahead.

Full Review Source: Courier Mail (Australia) | comment Comment
05/21/09
Des Partridge
Des Partridge
Courier Mail (Australia)
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Never less than politely entertaining, but often misses its huge targets.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine Australasia | comment Comment
05/20/09
Hilton Thomas
Hilton Thomas
Empire Magazine Australasia
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

When Night at the Museum 2 sticks to its preferred brand of high-jinks, it delivers upon its promise of plenty of throwaway fun for the all-ages crowd.

Full Review Source: Herald Sun (Australia) | comment Comment
05/20/09
Leigh Paatsch
Leigh Paatsch
Herald Sun (Australia)
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A lack of discipline and a desire to appeal to the lowest common denominator have wreaked havoc on a decent cast and a great idea, almost burying the outstanding effects. It's a flimsy rescue story.

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
05/18/09
Andrew L. Urban
Andrew L. Urban
Urban Cinefile
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Amy Adams is the lone saving grace to be found herein, which is a nice way of saying she's all that kept me from pondering "to be or not to be".

Full Review Source: Projection Booth | comment Comment
12/01/09
Rob Humanick
Rob Humanick
Projection Booth

No stone is left unturned.

Full Review Source: Cinema Signals | comment Comment
11/30/09
Jules Brenner
Jules Brenner
Cinema Signals

One wonders if director Shawn Levy was more interested in cramming special effects into the movie than creating actual comedy.

Full Review Source: Washington Times | comment Comment
08/30/09
Sonny Bunch
Sonny Bunch
Washington Times

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian can be too cluttered and hyperactive to appreciate its broad pleasures.

Full Review Source: Reel Times: Reflections on Cinema | comment Comment
06/29/09
Mark Pfeiffer
Mark Pfeiffer
Reel Times: Reflections on Cinema

...what the heck, it's fun on the same level as the original...

Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment Comment
06/12/09
Jim Lane
Jim Lane
Sacramento News & Review

Amy Adams adds plenty of welcome 'moxie' (and a tight pair of aviator's britches), but otherwise there's not much here besides noise, chaos and monkey-slapping.

Full Review Source: Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) | comment 1 Comment
06/12/09
John Beifuss
John Beifuss
Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)

With all the oversized personalities that surround him, Stiller gets upstaged.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
06/07/09
Dan Lybarger
Dan Lybarger
eFilmCritic.com

Stiller has a look on his face as if he knows he's participating in total garbage.

Full Review Source: Tucson Weekly | comment Comment
06/07/09
Bob Grimm
Bob Grimm
Tucson Weekly

It was fresh, funny and clever the first time. Now, not so much.

Full Review Source: Denton Record Chronicle (TX) | comment Comment
06/01/09
Boo Allen
Boo Allen
Denton Record Chronicle (TX)

The result is pretty much a free-form traffic jam in which everyone fights everyone else.

Full Review Source: New Yorker | comment Comment
06/01/09
David Denby
David Denby
New Yorker
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

an amusing concept that still holds some charm now, although it also lends itself to bombastic overkill, which sequels are naturally inclined toward anyway

Full Review Source: Q Network Film Desk | comment Comment
06/01/09
James Kendrick
James Kendrick
Q Network Film Desk

Best of all are Azaria, a brilliant comic character actor... and Adams as the feisty Earhart, thrilled to be off on a new adventure.

Full Review Source: Worcester Telegram & Gazette | comment Comment
06/01/09
Daniel M. Kimmel
Daniel M. Kimmel
Worcester Telegram & Gazette

Smithsonian wants to be frothy, but it can't help having a little more heart and soul than you'd expect or even require. Give it a chance, it's a fun show.

Full Review Source: Cinerina | comment Comment
05/31/09
Karina Montgomery
Karina Montgomery
Cinerina
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
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