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  • Released on May 22nd of this year - it is the sequel to the very highly successful blockbuster hit

  • of 2006 - starring Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Hank Azaria, Amy Adams, and

  • a huge ensemble cast. In the first movie, our protagonist, Larry Daley, played by Ben

  • Stiller becomes the night watchmen at New York's Natural History museum, where the exhibits

  • literally "come alive" at night. Fast-forward a couple years for the plot of this sequel,

  • and we find that Larry's old museum pals are being shipped away to live in storage - underneath

  • the National Mall, in the Smithsonian Museum archives. Larry has to travel to Washington

  • DC and do battle with the quick-talking and goofy Pharoah, Kahmunrah, played brilliantly

  • by Hank Azaria, for the mystical Golden Tablet that brings all of the exhibits to life.

  • I hadn't seen the original until yesterday - so watching both movies back-to-back was

  • a real treat. Ben Stiller is refreshing in the only role he is able to play well - the

  • slapstick hero with a heart of gold. Although dreadfully underused, each and every member

  • of the supporting cast does their share of bringing in the laughs. Having nearly every

  • actor from the original movie reprising their role in this bigger and more adventurous sequel

  • is always a great recipe for a successful movie. The character's developments from the

  • previous film felt organic, and the new problems presented didn't seem like the usual "Hollywood-Money-Grubbing-For-A-Sequel",

  • like we've seen in many other franchises. I felt that bringing the action to the Smithsonian

  • was a great concept, allowing for many fun and exciting character additions. And as this

  • is a family movie - I think this strategy worked wonderfully - the action is nearly

  • non-stop throughout the film, with a playful lighthearted tone keeping everything kid-friendly

  • for the 105-minute run time. Unlike the first film, Stiller was smartly cast opposite Amy

  • Adams as the female/romantic lead - dutifully playing Amelia Earhart - this romantic sub-plot

  • gives the movie a nice foundation that I feel the first movie lacked. I wasn't expecting

  • to enjoy this movie too much, but I genuinely laughed and smiled more than a few times while

  • watching this movie - which can best be described as the ultimate kid's fantasy. I especially

  • loved how the film brought to life several famous American paintings - an interesting

  • and fun scene you can't help by smile at. Obviously, this movie's large ensemble cast

  • it where it really shines - but I couldn't help but feel this is also where the movie

  • failed. Many of the characters - especially the trio of villains Kahmanrah enlists to

  • help him retrieve the tablet - seemed woefully underdeveloped and poorly utilized. There

  • were several scenes where characters were haphazardly introduced just to deliver a single

  • joke, and then were forgotten about for most of the film. In contrast to the original film,

  • where I felt the core cast meshed very well with each other. Sadly, Robin Williams - who

  • was easily the most memorable character from the first film is mostly absent from this

  • film - making only minor appearances to close out the film.

  • So, it was a very fun and original family comedy that complimented the first film nicely...

  • but what did you think about Night At The Museum 2:

  • benpalm1 I enjoyed Battle at the Smithsonian, but mostly because I enjoyed relating the

  • movie to my own Smithsonian visit and because i was in the mood for cheesy, unintelligent

  • comedy. who knows when I'll be in both of those moods again?

  • danm966 Night at the Museum 2 was utter crap. It was such an embarassment to the first one

  • as many of the jokes were genarally not funny and most of the film was a slapstick comedy

  • mess. I think it would be a good movie for people under the age of 10. LOVED the first

  • one, but this is a 2 thumbs DOWN.

  • evillttlimp I thought Night at the Museum (both the original and the sequel) was cute.

  • I enjoyed watching it, and the visuals were quite impressive. Also, Amy Adams is always

  • fun to watch.

  • Alight! Well, I got some complaints last week for changing up the Rate-O-Matic on you...

  • so we're returning to the old format - where this rating will now reflect our collective

  • score. The reviews on this one movie were definitely mixed, but most of you agreed that

  • it was an above-average movie - so it receives a 7 - Cool!

Released on May 22nd of this year - it is the sequel to the very highly successful blockbuster hit

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