Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009)

Security guard Larry Daley infiltrates the Smithsonian Institution in order to rescue Jedediah and Octavius, who have been shipped to the museum by mistake.

Director:

Shawn Levy

Writers:

Robert Ben Garant, Thomas Lennon

Stars:

Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Amy Adams

2 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ben Stiller	...	Larry Daley
Amy Adams	...	Amelia Earhart
Owen Wilson	...	Jedediah
Hank Azaria	...	Kahmunrah / The Thinker / Abe Lincoln (voice)
Robin Williams	...	Teddy Roosevelt
Christopher Guest	...	Ivan the Terrible
Alain Chabat	...	Napoleon Bonaparte
Steve Coogan	...	Octavius
Ricky Gervais	...	Dr. McPhee
Bill Hader	...	George Armstrong Custer
Jon Bernthal	...	Al Capone
Patrick Gallagher	...	Attila the Hun
Jake Cherry	...	Nicky
Rami Malek	...	Ahkmenrah
Mizuo Peck	...	Sacajawea

Storyline

Ben Stiller returns as night watchman Larry Daily, now a successful business man, who gets back to the museum just in time to find that he needs to get his friends out of trouble. This new installment takes us to the Smithsonian, and introduces us to new characters, such as Amelia Earhart, General Custer, and many more!

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Plot Keywords:

al capone character | darth vader character | theodore roosevelt character | abraham lincoln character | albert einstein character | 

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Taglines:

When the lights go off the battle is on.

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Family | Fantasy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for mild action and brief language

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jonah Hill: (at around 20 mins) Uncredited as the Smithsonian guard Brandon/Brundon.

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Goofs

Octopuses are ocean creatures which can only live in salty water, but this is a magic octopus which can breathe air in the museum corridors and saltless water in the Washington Monument Reflecting Pool.

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Quotes

Jedediah: [to Larry] That fancy suit you've been paradin' around in these last couple years, that there's a hangin' suit. All gussied up and dead inside, that ain't you. And I'll tell you another thing; this night ain't over yet. This midnight cowboy's got some fight left in him, and somethin' tells me you do too. Ho, now!
[puts his fist to the glass]

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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!"

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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.

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Connections

Referenced in Wheel of Fortune: America's Game 1 (2009)

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Soundtracks

Let's Groove
Written by Maurice White and Wayne Vaughn
Performed by Earth Wind & Fire (as Earth, Wind & Fire)
Courtesy of Columbia Records
By Arrangement with Sony Music Entertainment

User Reviews

Rather average follow-up to an entertaining film

I really liked the first Night at the Museum, not bowled over, but very entertained. It had great special effects and it was great to see childhood legend Dick Van Dyke again. I was looking forward to this sequel, hoping for the same sort of entertainment. This is not a terrible film by all means, but as a sequel and film I couldn't help feeling disappointed.

Granted, the special effects were absolutely wonderful, and the cinematography, locations, costumes, sets and editing striking. Granted, the score was rousing and fun, and most of the direction solid. And granted the actors give it their all, Ben Stiller is solid if occasionally going overboard, Amy Adams and Hank Azaria are absolute hoots and Robin Williams returns as Roosevelt and along with Azaria is the standout of the actors playing the historical figures.

However, the recurring support cast aren't given much to do excepting Robin Williams, Owen Wilson is rather annoying, Napolean and Al Capone are written as quite badly-written caricatures and don't get me started on the Jonas Brothers, their presence added absolutely nothing to the proceedings and they were not funny at all. And if only there was a story and script that were consistently engaging, but the script and sight gags are very hit and miss and the story is thin, and these are further disadvantaged by the overlong length, tacky ending and too many scenes that drag.

In conclusion, watchable but quite average. 5/10 Bethany Cox

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 May 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

Night at the Museum 2

Filming Locations:

American Museum of Natural History - Central Park West at 79th Street, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$150,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$54,173,286, 24 May 2009

Gross USA:

$177,243,721

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$413,106,170

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox, 21 Laps Entertainment, 1492 Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby DTS SDDS

Color:

Color Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1