After taking $575 million for the first instalment, it was probably no real surprise that the team behind the hugely successful Night At The Museum decided to return for another round of the fun–filled family franchise. And so here we are less than three years later, and nearly everyone has returned, plus they‘ve brought a whole host of extra characters.
The film focuses once again on the down–on–his–luck everyman Larry Daley, the security guard at the Museum Of Natural History. But this time things are different – for Larry has become a hugely successful businessman inventing top gizmos such as glow in the dark torches. But despite his success and the money, he is anything but happy. And a return to the museum where he previously worked as security guard does nothing to assuage his concerns, as all his friends, the exhibits, are being packed off to storage in the Smithsonian in Washington.
So when the ancient Egyptian tablet brings everything to life over in Washington, including the evil Pharaoh Kamunrah, Larry has to go to the aid of his friends.
As he is forced to do battle with officious security guards in the form of Jonah Hill, a giant octopus, and numerous evil characters including Ivan The Terrible, Napoloeon Bonaparte, Al Capone and of course Kamunrah, Larry needs some more help. And this comes in the form of one of America‘s most infamous generals, Custer, and the headstrong aviator, Amelia Earhart.
With a plethora of new creatures and characters to come to life, the jokes, as expected, come as thick and fast as a surfer dude in gale force winds. But with so many characters, the film is like a gargantuan feast, with simply too much to choose from, and, as a result many of the characters get lost in the malaise including the supremely talented Christopher Guest, Robin Williams, Jonah Hill, Bill Hader and Ricky Gervais to name but a few. Furthermore, the highlight of the first film, the Steve Coogan/Owen Wilson rivalry combo, is almost completely ignored. Finally, despite a strong performance from Amy Adams as the feisty Amelia Earhart, complete with distractingly tight jodhpurs, the romantic subplot never really gets airborne as the sexual tension between Stiller and Adams is as lacking in chemistry as a high school exam failure. Indeed, there is more of a spark with his favourite Cappuccin monkey, of which there are two in this sequel.
That said, Hank Azaria gives a hilarious turn as the lisping, unrespected evil Pharaoh Kamunrah, while despite their brief cameos, Wilson, Coogan, Hader and Williams are on fine form, with Stiller doing his world weary shtick once more.
All in all, Night At The Museum 2 is guaranteed box office success on both sides of the Atlantic, and will no doubt prove a sure fire hit with the kids. However, director Shawn Levy, like Stiller‘s character in the film, may well have bitten off more than he can chew, overloading the film with gags and most notably characters. As a result of this scattergun approach, much of the comedy and backstory which proved so delightful in the first film, has, like the exhibits in the film, gone astray.