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!