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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:156

Fresh:69

Rotten:87

Average Rating:5.2/10

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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61 - 80 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Battle of the Smithsonian is far from art, but there's plenty of art in it, and for parents seeking a reasonable afternoon's entertainment for the kids, that's recommendation enough.

Full Review Source: Seattle Times | comment Comment
05/22/09
Moira MacDonald
Moira MacDonald
Seattle Times

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian throws everything -- history, high jinks, lots of famous faces in supporting roles -- at the museum walls to see what sticks. Happily, much of it does.

Full Review Source: Sacramento Bee | comment Comment
05/22/09
Carla Meyer
Carla Meyer
Sacramento Bee

Adults who see this movie unaccompanied by a child should sign up pronto for therapy with Gabriel Byrne on In Treatment.

Full Review Source: Rolling Stone | comment Comment
05/22/09
Peter Travers
Peter Travers
Rolling Stone

Adults have the choice of either admiring the scenery or taking a nap. There's not much else worth doing. Certainly, paying attention to the story is an exercise in futility, but you're welcome to try...

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
05/22/09
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews

A super-size rehash of the original.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia Inquirer | comment Comment
05/22/09
Steven Rea
Steven Rea
Philadelphia Inquirer

If you aren't enchanted and a little thrilled by the sequel's setting -- well, you probably hate puppies and sunshine, too.

Full Review Source: Washington City Paper | comment Comment
05/22/09
Tricia Olszewski
Tricia Olszewski
Washington City Paper

Smithsonian whips itself into a kind of frenzied exhilaration that's both fun and funny.

Full Review Source: Orlando Weekly | comment Comment
05/22/09
Justin Strout
Justin Strout
Orlando Weekly

Your 12-and-unders will dig it, and it might even serve as a sort of movie-Bookmobile and get them to read a little history, or at least a little Wikipedia. But otherwise it's utterly dispensable.

Full Review Source: Oregonian | comment Comment
05/22/09
Mike Russell
Mike Russell
Oregonian

Pleasant, innocuous and intermittently thrilling family entertainment.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
05/22/09
A.O. Scott
A.O. Scott
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The paradox of Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian is that a movie so bursting with novelty can feel so utterly familiar.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment 1 Comment
05/22/09
A.O. Scott
A.O. Scott
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian seems to go on for several days and nights, though in fact it lasts just 105 minutes. I checked my watch. A lot.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
05/22/09
Lou Lumenick
Lou Lumenick
New York Post

The sequel to the big family hit Night at the Museum struggles with a big creative challenge. The sense of wonderment you feel in seeing museum displays magically come to life is not as strong the second time around.

Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | comment Comment
05/22/09
Colin Covert
Colin Covert
Minneapolis Star Tribune

The film offers enough ingenious touches and playful humor that the less-inspired elements hit with a screech.

Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
05/22/09
Amy Biancolli
Amy Biancolli
Houston Chronicle

Every bit as over-long, talky and cumbersome as its title.

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
05/22/09
Liz Braun
Liz Braun
Jam! Movies

This is yet another hard-sell "family" film that tries to bludgeon viewers into submission with loud and overly elaborate special effects set-pieces instead of charming them with a compelling story or any discernible traces of genuine wit and/or whimsy.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
05/22/09
Peter Sobczynski
Peter Sobczynski
eFilmCritic.com

You can actually hear the writers pulling ideas out of their butts and flinging them willy-nilly at the screen.

Full Review Source: Mania.com | comment 2 Comments
05/22/09
Rob Vaux
Rob Vaux
Mania.com

Once these creatures do come to life for a second outing, the promise soon evaporates and the clever comedy, built largely on crisscrossing anachronisms and various sly cultural references, is not enough to sustain a romp that is all rather predictable.

Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
05/22/09
Kate Taylor
Kate Taylor
Globe and Mail

Fun, fast-paced sequel is more upbeat than the original.

Full Review Source: Common Sense Media | comment Comment
05/22/09
Betsy Bozdech
Betsy Bozdech
Common Sense Media

The Godfather Part II of family-oriented, museum-based CGI spectacles.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
05/22/09
Natasha Vargas-Cooper
Natasha Vargas-Cooper
E! Online

Battle of the Smithsonian is packed with odd characters, eccentric arguments and ornate special effects, and while it's never transcendently funny enough to be seriously impressive, it is chock full of family-friendly giggles.

Full Review Source: Detroit News | comment Comment
05/22/09
Tom Long
Tom Long
Detroit News
 
 
61 - 80 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 >> >|
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