AAR Goes to the Movies: Night at the Museum

One of the trade-offs in the joys of parenthood is that sometimes I have to see movies that on my own, I probably wouldn’t see.  Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian is one of those movies.  Luckily, I enjoyed it for it’s over the top performances and it’s poking fun of esteemed historical personalities. 

The story begins two years after the last movie’s end.  In that time, the main character, Larry Daley, played by Ben Stiller, is now a wealthy inventor who rarely visits the museum, but still cares deeply for his friends who come to life nightly due to an ancient Egyptian tablet. 

However, progress brings changes and most, but not all, of the museum’s exhibits are packed away for permanent storage in the vaults of the Smithsonian in Washington.  By mistake (sorta), the tablet is packed away as well.  Needless to say, when the tablet arrives in Washington and the sun sets, all sorts of chaos breaks loose leaving Larry with no choice but to save his friends.    

The best character of the entire movie is Kahmunrah, played by Hank Azaria, the evil brother of Ahkmenrah from the previous movie.  His inept attempt to take over the world with the aid of Ivan the Terrible, Napoleon Bonaparte, and Al Capone made the movie for me.  I also enjoyed the humor of the singing cherubs and their attempts at matchmaking.  For my boys, the highlight of the film was “The Thinker” and his “Boom! Bam! Firepower!” line.  I’ve seen that part of the film reenacted way too many times in my household lately. 

While I don’t enjoy all the movies I take my kids to see, I did enjoy this one. There was  enough adult humor to pull me through the film.  Unfortunately, I can’t say the same from my husband, who found it torturous.   

AAR Heather