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IMDbPro

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian

  • 20092009
  • PGPG
  • 1h 45m
IMDb RATING
6.0/10
195K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
3,334
1,239
Robin Williams, Hank Azaria, Christopher Guest, Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Amy Adams, Alain Chabat, Steve Coogan, Patrick Gallagher, Bill Hader, Mizuo Peck, Jon Bernthal, and Crystal the Monkey in Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009)
Security guard Larry Daley infiltrates the Smithsonian Institute in order to rescue Jedediah and Octavius, who have been shipped to the museum by mistake.
Play trailer2:32
1 Video
99+ Photos
AdventureComedyFamily
Security guard Larry Daley infiltrates the Smithsonian Institution in order to rescue Jedediah and Octavius, who have been shipped to the museum by mistake.Security guard Larry Daley infiltrates the Smithsonian Institution in order to rescue Jedediah and Octavius, who have been shipped to the museum by mistake.Security guard Larry Daley infiltrates the Smithsonian Institution in order to rescue Jedediah and Octavius, who have been shipped to the museum by mistake.
IMDb RATING
6.0/10
195K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
3,334
1,239
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • Shawn Levy
    • Writers
      • Robert Ben Garant(characters)
      • Thomas Lennon(characters)
    • Stars
      • Ben Stiller
      • Owen Wilson
      • Amy Adams
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Shawn Levy
    • Writers
      • Robert Ben Garant(characters)
      • Thomas Lennon(characters)
    • Stars
      • Ben Stiller
      • Owen Wilson
      • Amy Adams
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 244User reviews
    • 175Critic reviews
    • 42Metascore
    • Awards
      • 2 wins & 9 nominations

    Videos1

    Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian -- Trailer #2
    Trailer 2:32
    Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian -- Trailer #2

    Photos347

    Hank Azaria in Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009)
    Christopher Guest, Alain Chabat, and Jon Bernthal in Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009)
    Hank Azaria and Ben Stiller in Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009)
    Ben Stiller and Amy Adams in Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009)
    Hank Azaria and Christopher Guest in Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009)
    Christopher Guest and Alain Chabat in Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009)
    Ben Stiller in Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009)
    Amy Adams in Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009)
    Amy Adams in Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009)
    Ricky Gervais and Crystal the Monkey in Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009)
    Bill Hader and Crystal the Monkey in Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009)
    Ben Stiller and Amy Adams in Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Ben Stiller
    Ben Stiller
    • Larry Daley
    Owen Wilson
    Owen Wilson
    • Jedediah
    Amy Adams
    Amy Adams
    • Amelia Earhart
    Hank Azaria
    Hank Azaria
    • Kahmunrah
    • (voice)
    • …
    Robin Williams
    Robin Williams
    • Teddy Roosevelt
    Christopher Guest
    Christopher Guest
    • Ivan the Terrible
    Alain Chabat
    Alain Chabat
    • Napoleon Bonaparte
    Steve Coogan
    Steve Coogan
    • Octavius
    Ricky Gervais
    Ricky Gervais
    • Dr. McPhee
    Bill Hader
    Bill Hader
    • George Armstrong Custer
    Jon Bernthal
    Jon Bernthal
    • Al Capone
    Patrick Gallagher
    Patrick Gallagher
    • Attila the Hun
    Jake Cherry
    Jake Cherry
    • Nicky
    Rami Malek
    Rami Malek
    • Ahkmenrah
    Mizuo Peck
    Mizuo Peck
    • Sacajawea
    Kerry van der Griend
    • Neanderthal #1
    • (as Kerry Van Der Griend)
    Matthew Harrison
    Matthew Harrison
    • Neanderthal #2
    Rick Dobran
    • Neanderthal #3
    • (as Riccardo Dobran)
    • Director
      • Shawn Levy
    • Writers
      • Robert Ben Garant(characters)
      • Thomas Lennon(characters)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Director Shawn Levy told a National Public Radio interviewer that once the Smithsonian Institution agreed to lend their name to the film, their curators were very helpful and willing to share information about the real-life characters represented in the movie, but Levy had more trouble with the intellectual property-holders for the fictional characters represented. For instance, in the Darth Vader cameo, a LucasFilm employee came on-set to observe the scene and tell the filmmakers what Vader would or wouldn't do.
    • Goofs
      (at around 8 mins) Dr. McPhee has no reason to allow Larry to stay in the museum after closing, as Larry is no longer a night guard. However, Dr. McPhee may feel indebted to Larry after the events of Night at the Museum (2006), and decide to owe him this special favor from time to time.
    • Quotes

      Kah Mun Rah: [Darth Vader holds his hand up with a pinching motion] What is that? What is that? What does it mean? I don't know... you've lost me. Is that your breathing? Because I can't hear myself think.

      [pause]

      Kah Mun Rah: Let me tell you kindly, just simplify. There's too much going on! You're not evil, you're asthmatic, and what's with the cape? Are we going to the opera? I don't think so. Goodbye!

      [Darth Vader and Oscar the Grouch leave]

    • Crazy credits
      There is an extra scene during the credits where Sailor Joey Motorola is seen reverse-engineering Larry Daley's cell-phone. He says to his mother (off camera) "I think I'm on to something!"
    • Alternate versions
      Additional humour was brought to the German version by the Albert Einstein dub by Jean Pütz, a famous science journalist and TV host.
    • Connections
      Featured in The 81st Annual Academy Awards (2009)
    • Soundtracks
      7th Cavalry Regiment
      Traditional

    User reviews244

    Review
    Top review
    4/10
    Poorly manufactured sequel that stays bearable with a few good characters
    The first "Night at the Museum" worked despite conventions for a few reasons, but the main one was that it eased into its premise of museum exhibits coming to life and didn't take it for granted like "Night of the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian" does. I'm actually surprised the writers of the first film wrote this sequel, because Thomas Lennon and Robert Ben Garant handle these characters like they're someone else's creation and they can butcher them all they want.

    "Night at the Museum 2" sucks the magic out of the original and overdoses on characters as well as meandering sarcasm and awkward humor. Save some bright spots in character acting from a delightful and plucky Amy Adams and some bright spots from Hank Azaria and Christopher Guest, "Smithsonian" will disappoint most defenders of the first film -- except kids and anyone else who'll bite on an outrageous premise.

    Ben Stiller stars again as Larry Daley, only our beloved night security guard has randomly become a mastermind of As Seen on TV products. That decision alone completely destroys the continuity between this film and the last, forcing Larry's story to be something totally different than the single dad trying to be a role model for his son. Now son is hacking into the Smithsonian Institute floor plans to direct his dad to the location of the tablet that brings things to life at night. See the Museum of Natural History is going digital and all the beloved characters of the first film are shipped to the national archives in DC, only that naughty monkey brought the tablet with him and so the Smithsonian has come to life.

    Our source of conflict is the Pharaoh at the Smithsonian, Kahmunrah, played by Azaria doing his best Stewie Griffin impression, who wants the tablet to unleash his army, so he gets help from Napoleon, Ivan the Terrible (Guest) and young Al Capone. At least director Shawn Levy realized the asset they had in Azaria and had him voice a couple other key statues that come to life later on. Azaria's too good for this film, really, but he plays at its level instead of pushing it and even manages a few of the better laughs when he puts a major diss on Darth Vader.

    Then there's Amy Adams, the lone diamond in a sea of forced comedy and excessive cameos. It might seem like loving Adams is the "it" thing, but she brings the imaginative spirit sorely lacking in the film as Amelia Earheart. Every time she speaks it literally feels like the film gets more believable because she's such a convincing spirit. She also gets to work her best Katherine Hepburn impression to boot.

    But "Smithsonian" is more defined by its disappointments and synthetic sequel material. Lennon and Garant try and include too many characters between the old ones and the new ones and the film just feels chaotic. It's like a contest to see how many new ideas of different things they can bring to life from paintings and photos on the wall to historical monuments in DC.

    Worst of all, it's completely rushed. Understood that we get the coming-to-life premise and we aren't going to be surprised by it, but they take all the fun out of it. Levy figures a shot a piece of the statues of Amelia and Bill Hader's Col. Custer are adequate foreshadow, but they're not. Daley just cons his way into the archives and the story rockets right into the Smithsonian with a few quick facts about what it is to provide context.

    "Night at the Museum 2" does just about everything we used to be terrified of sequels doing in the '90s -- overdoing it and diverting from the core values that won some love for the original because that film wasn't just about things coming to life.

    ~Steven C

    http://moviemusereviews.com
    helpful•39
    19
    • Movie_Muse_Reviews
    • Jan 8, 2010

    FAQ7

    • What is 'Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian' about?
    • Is 'Battle of the Smithsonian' based on a book?
    • Should the first movie be watched before this one?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • May 22, 2009 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • United States
      • Canada
    • Official sites
      • Official site
      • Stream Night at the Museum : Battle of the Smithsonian officially on Disney+ Hotstar Indonesia
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Night at the Museum 2
    • Filming locations
      • Montréal, Québec, Canada
    • Production companies
      • Twentieth Century Fox
      • 21 Laps Entertainment
      • 1492 Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $150,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $177,243,721
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $54,173,286
      • May 24, 2009
    • Gross worldwide
      • $413,106,170
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 45 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
      • Black and White
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby
      • DTS
      • SDDS
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.39 : 1

    Related news

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    Robin Williams, Hank Azaria, Christopher Guest, Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Amy Adams, Alain Chabat, Steve Coogan, Patrick Gallagher, Bill Hader, Mizuo Peck, Jon Bernthal, and Crystal the Monkey in Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009)
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