Film File - Night At The Museum 2

In these troubled times, a night of old-fashioned escapism matters more than ever. With this in mind, the prospect of 'Night At The Museum 2" promised some easy on the eye nonsense to forget the worries of the world. However, with the smash hit 2006 original having posed the question of what goes on in a museum when the lights go out, where could the filmmakers go this time around? After a memorable night at New York"s Museum of Natural History where neanderthals, cowboys, former US Presidents, dinosaurs and Easter Island statues all came together the confront a night watchman who was able to triumph for the first time in his life through the power of knowledge and the pleasures of unexpected friendships, it needed to be something really big to better it second time around. Enter Washington"s Smithsonian Museum - home to an even more astonishing array of exhibits from prehistoric creatures to medieval artworks to Space Age rockets. Considered a beacon of culture, education and exploration the world over, the Smithsonian is the largest museum complex in America and a repository for everything from ancient bones to vital historical documents to such cultural artifacts as Archie Bunker"s chair from the classic TV series. Some 25 million visitors each year are dazzled and excited by all that lies within, from the awe-inspiring paintings in the National Gallery to the vintage planes in the National Air & Space Museum. Amongst those planes is the nation"s tribute to adventurous aviator Amelia Earhart and the cherry red Lockheed Vega in which she made her record-breaking flight across the Atlantic - a central character of the film. Having moved on from his former job as night security man to a budding inventor, Larry (Ben Stiller) gets an emergency summons from miniature cowboy Jedediah (Owen Wilson), warning that the evil Egyptian ruler Kahmunrah (Hank Azaria) has been awoken from his 3,000-year slumber. Gathering together a gang of history"s most notorious figures, including Ivan the Terrible (Christopher Guest), Napoleon (Alain Chabat) and Al Capone (Jon Bernthal), Kahmunrah plans on taking over the world with his Army of the Underworld. With the help of his son Nicky (Jake Cherry), Larry enlists the aid of his former museum buddies - Teddy Roosevelt (Robin Williams), Octavius (Steve Coogan), Sacajawea (Mizuo Peck), Attila The Hun (Patrick Gallagher) and the Neanderthals. Added to the good guys line-up is the beautiful Amelia Earhart (Amy Adams) herself. Cue lights, special effects and all-out mayhem in America"s favourite educational establishment. Sequels are never an easy prospect, and, with notable exceptions such as 'Godfather 2" and the like, they usually fall flat on their faces. 'Battle At The Smithsonian" is very weak in parts - particularly the script by Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon that"s way below what it should have been given the comedic power of the assembled cast. Amy Adams, while stunning as ever, seems unsure whether she"s got a Yank or a Brit accent; Owen Wilson and Steve Coogan are woefully underused - as is Ricky Gervais playing one Dr McPhee, who makes an entirely too quick cameo that could surely have been extended. Stiller, as the lynchpin of the piece, does what he usually does - pulls 'Zoolander" faces regardless of danger of relief. So thank Heavens for Hank Azaria as the evil Egyptian Kahmunrah, a terrific horror creation that reminds one of those Hammer films of long ago - creepy and powerful rolled into one malevolent stew. Without him, this is one museum that would have closed early. As pure escapist fare, this film is certainly no 'Indiana Jones", but it does have enough acrobatics to hold the interest, and a few decent guffaws thrown in for good measure.