When former night watchman Larry Daley (Ben Stiller) leans that his friends, the exhibits of the Museum of National History, are going to be retired to the archives of the Smithsonian Institution, he hatches a plan to rescue them.  However, the ancient artifact that gives his friends nocturnal life has also awakened some of the Smithsonian’s own exhibits, some of which are not as friendly as the Museum’s.

CRITIQUE

I must start this off by first saying that I have not actually seen the first Night at the Museum. I had no interest in it when it was in theaters, even though I kept hearing that it was a fun little family film. Since it has been on TV, I have caught it at random times, but I have never been able to catch the film from beginning to end.  What I saw of the film, I thought was fine. I understood the basic premise as well as understood who the characters were and how they interacted with one another. 

Had I not had that basic knowledge, I would have been completely lost with this film.

Now, to be perfectly fair, there is absolutely nothing wrong with Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian. It’s a fine PG rated family film. It’s fun, sweet natured, and very entertaining.  However, the film is overly simplistic (nothing really wrong with that, this is a kid’s film after all) but because of it’s brisk pace the film never allows the viewer to ever really connect to any of the main characters.  Part of this is due to the fact that Battle of the Smithsonian assumes you have seen the first film. 

If you have not seen that film, then you are never really able to make that emotional connection to the first film’s heroes, and their plight. Also, because this film is more focused on the adventure, we are never really given time to get to know our new heroes – Amelia Earhart (Adams) and General Custer (Bill Hader) both of which are fun characters, but never really given an opportunity to shine. 

But of all the new characters, the true stars of the film are the villains.  Like with the first film, the basic plot involves an attempted theft and misuse of the Tablet of Ahkmenrah (Rami Malek.) This time, the thief is Ahkmenrah’s brother Kamunrah (played absolutely perfectly by the always entertaining Hank Azaria.)  He has enlisted three of the world’s most notorious villains to aid him – Al Capone (Jon Bernthal,) Napoleon (Alain Chabat,) and Ivan the Terrible (Christopher Guest, who steals every scene he is in.) While I do enjoy watching such great comedians work, I do think it’s a shame that they are the best characters in the film, and (in some cases) the most developed.

Basically, if you enjoyed the first Night at the Museum film, then this film is definitely right up your ally. If you have not seen the first film, I would recommend giving it a shot before jumping into this one.

THE VIDEO

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian is presented in 2.35:1/1080p on a 50GB disc, and it looks wonderful. There are no compression issues; the picture is wonderfully crisp and clean. Everything about it looks wonderful.

THE AUDIO

The film is presented in 5.1 DTS-HD and has a wonderful mix. With so much happening in the background of the film, there is never a dull moment with the sound.

THE EXTRAS

Commentary by Director Shawn Levi: A nice and informative track that deals with quite a bit of the film’s creation and evolution.

Commentary by Writers Robert Garant and Thomas Lennon: Also informative, but a little more entertaining.

Deleted Scenes: A few deleted scenes and some extended sequences. The best of which is an extended bit between Ben Stiller and Brundon (Jonah Hill.)

Scavenger Hunt Mode: A little DVD game that is somewhat entertaining.

Curators of Comedy: A making of featurette filled with interviews with the cast and crew. Nothing too elaborate, but not too bad.

Historical Confessions: A look at the historical figures in the film.

Directing 201: A day on the set with Director Shawn Levi. If you have no idea what a director’s job is – this will give you a good idea of what it is.

Caveman Conversations: An interview with the cavemen.

Museum Magic: A look at the making of the world of Alfred Eisenstaedt’s famous V-J day in Times Square photo.

Secret Doors and Scientists: A look at the real American Museum of Natural History.

Phinding Pharoh: How Hank Azaria came up with his accent for Kahmunrah. The camera tests for his different accents are hysterical.

Show Me the Monkey: A look at simian star of Night of the Museum.

The Jonas Brothers in Cherub Bootcamp: A look at how the Jonas Brothers learned to become Cherubs.

Gangster Levy: A fake film clip featuring Shawn Levi as a gangster.

Gag Reel: Exactly that.

Fox Movie Channel Presents: Making a Scene: A featurette looking at the making of the Aero-Space Museum sequence.

Fox Movie Channel Presents: World Premiere: A look at the World Premiere of the film, which was at the Smithsonian Institute.

This Three-Disc Blu-ray package also contains a DVD of the film and a bonus third disc with Digital Copy.

FINAL THOUGHT