Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian

When the lights go off the battle is on.

While Larry Daley (Ben Stiller) has been busy creating a business empire for himself, his old buddies at the museum of natural history are being shipped off to the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. The kind of mandatory sequel where no one involved has to work hard to make sure audiences come back, guaranteeing far too much repetition and a thin story. A few new characters are introduced and Hank Azaria is hilarious as the bad guy, a pharaoh… but too many jokes fall flat and all the noisy, braindead chases try one’s patience.

2009-U.S. 104 min. Color. Widescreen. Directed by Shawn Levy. Cast: Ben Stiller (Larry Daley), Amy Adams (Amelia Earhart), Owen Wilson (Jedediah), Hank Azaria, Robin Williams, Christopher Guest… Ricky Gervais, Steve Coogan. Voices of Brad Garrett, Eugene Levy. Cameos: Jonah Hill, George Foreman.

Trivia: Reese Witherspoon was allegedly considered for the part of Earhart.