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Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian

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Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
Teaser poster
Directed byShawn Levy
Written byScreenplay:
Thomas Lennon
Story:
Robert Ben Garant
Book:
Milan Trenc
Produced byShawn Levy
Chris Columbus
Michael Barnathan
StarringBen Stiller
Amy Adams
Owen Wilson
Hank Azaria
Christopher Guest
Alain Chabat
Robin Williams
CinematographyGuillermo Navarro
Edited byDon Zimmerman
Music byAlan Silvestri
Production
companies
21 Laps Entertainment
1492 Pictures
Distributed by20th Century Fox
Release date
May 22, 2009
Running time
105 min.
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$150 million (estimated)
Box office$70,000,000

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (named Night at the Museum 2 in other countries) is a 2009 American comedy film and the sequel to the 2006 adventure comedy film Night at the Museum. The film stars Ben Stiller, Amy Adams, Hank Azaria, Bill Hader, Robin Williams, Owen Wilson, Steve Coogan, Alain Chabat, and Christopher Guest, and features numerous voice cameos and appearances by characters from the first film. It was released in theaters on May 22, 2009, and is rated PG for mild action and brief language.

Plot

Larry Daley (Ben Stiller) now works at Daley Devices, a company that manufactures his inventions. He finds that the American Museum of Natural History is closed for upgrades and renovations, and the museum pieces are moving to the Federal Archives at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC. On the last night, Larry meets the museum pieces such as Teddy Roosevelt (Robin Williams), Rexy the Tyrannosaurus Skeleton, and Dexter the Monkey and finds out that several exhibits, including Teddy, Rexy, the Easter Island Head, and Ahkmenrah (Rami Malek) are not moving to The Smithsonian Institution - the other exhibits will no longer be animated. The next night, Larry gets a call from Jedediah (Owen Wilson), saying that Dexter stole the tablet, and that Kahmunrah (Hank Azaria), Ahkmenrah's older brother, is attacking them. Larry takes a plane to Washington and visits the National Air and Space Museum, the National Gallery of Art and the Smithsonian Castle to find the Federal Archives with the help of his son Nick (Jake Cherry).

Larry sneaks into the archives and locates the exhibits, frozen in the middle of a battle with Kahmunrah and his troops, who are trying to lock the exhibits in a crate. Larry got hold of the Tablet of Arkmenrah, just when the sun sets and all the exhibits come alive again. Kahmunrah and his troops lock the crate and take the Tablet from Larry, and he tells Larry that bringing the exhibits to life is just only one of the tablet's powers - he intends to use it to raise an army from the underworld and conquer the world. Larry escapes with the help of General George Armstrong Custer (Bill Hader), who gets captured, and meets Amelia Earhart (Amy Adams), who is thrilled at the prospect of adventure and accompanies Larry. Meanwhile, Kahmunrah is able to recruit Al Capone (Jon Bernthal), Ivan The Terrible (Christopher Guest) and Napoleon Bonaparte (Alain Chabat) to help him capture Larry in return for sharing the world with him when he conquers it. Custer is locked up with the other exhibits from the American Museum of Natural History, and while he conceives a poor plan of attack, Jedidiah and Octavius (Steve Coogan) sneak out to help Larry.

Larry and Amelia are captured and taken to Kahmunrah. Kahmunrah then attempts to activate the tablet to open the gates of the underworld by pressing the symbols on the tablet, only to find out that the combination has been changed. He orders Larry to decipher the tablet's riddle and figure out the new combination before sunrise, and traps Jedidiah in an hourglass to hasten his attempts. Larry and Amelia consult a bust of Teddy who says that the answer is in the heart of the pharoah's tomb. The duo then consult The Thinker, but he gets distracted by a beautiful statue of a woman. They finally consult a group of Albert Einstein bobbleheads who tell them that the answer to the riddle (and hence the new combination) is pi. Larry and Amelia return to Kahmunrah, and Amelia goes for help while Larry delays Kahmunrah. Capone, Napolean and Ivan arrive and tell him the code, and he opens the gates of the underworld and summons an army of bird-men.

Suddenly, the statue of Abraham Lincoln from the Lincoln Memorial bursts through the window, frightening the bird-men back to the underworld. Amelia then arrives, having freed the other exhibits, and Custer orders them to attack. After a battle, Larry duels Kahmunrah with his flashlight, defeating him and casting him into his own portal to the underworld. Amelia flies Larry and the other exhibits back to the American Museum of Natural History, where Teddy welcomes him back, and Larry assures him he has a way for them to remain there. Larry and Amelia say good bye and kiss, then Amelia flies away leaving Larry outside of the museum. Some time later, it is revealed that Larry sold his company and donated the money to the museum to pay for Audio-Animatronics" exhibits - the exhibits that come at night are now accessible to the public alive, including Teddy as a tour guide, and Atilla as a storyteller since the museum now opens late. Larry is rehired at the museum as the night guard, and meets a young woman who looks just like Amelia. The film concludes as they talk and both walk off as Larry guides her towards the hall of miniatures with Jedidiah seen cheering as he rides a toy airplane. During the credits, a man from a black and white painting Larry visited is seen examining Larry's cell phone, which he left in a painting, and makes a new discovery (for his time period). His mother calls him, and his name is Joe Motorola.

Cast

Owen Wilson, Amy Adams, and Ben Stiller at a panel promoting the film in May 2009

Production

Writers Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon confirmed to Dark Horizons that they were writing a sequel to Night at the Museum, originally with a tentative title Another Night at the Museum. The writers said that "there'll be existing characters and plenty of new ones."

20th Century Fox announced that the sequel, now titled Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, is scheduled for a Memorial Day weekend release on May 22, 2009. Ben Stiller, Robin Williams, and Dick Van Dyke will return for the sequel (although this later turned out to be false), with Shawn Levy back in the director's chair, and it will be the first major Hollywood feature to be use the nameSmithsonianin its title. It is not the first feature movie to be filmed in the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C..[5] It is largely being filmed in Vancouver. Due to the nature of the complex story more historical figures are involved, such as Amelia Earhart, who will be portrayed by Amy Adams. A new villainous pharaoh will be played by Hank Azaria, who confirmed the return of Owen Wilson, Ricky Gervais, and Steve Coogan.[6]

The film was confirmed as shooting a scene at the Lincoln Memorial on the night of May 21, 2008. It was also shooting a scene at the American Museum of Natural History in New York on the nights of the eighteenth and twentieth of August 2008 where a red airplane could be seen. The trailer was released with Bedtime Stories, Yes Man and Marley & Me in December 2008, January 2009 with Bride Wars, and again in February and April 2009 with The Pink Panther 2 and Dragonball Evolution.

The film was promoted as an opening skit on American Idol, where a replica of the Idol judge seats are being held at the real Smithsonian Institution.

Reception

Criticial reaction

The film has received mixed to average reviews from critics. Rotten Tomatoes reported that 43% of critics gave the film positive reviews based on 119 reviews, with an average score of 5.1 out of 10.[7] Among Rotten Tomatoes' "Cream of the Crop", which consists of popular and notable critics from the top newspapers, websites, television, and radio programs, the film holds an overall approval rating of 33% based on 27 reviews.[8] Another review aggretator, Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 top reviews from mainstream critics, the film received an average score of 44% based on 27 reviews.[9]

Despite mixed reviews from critics, most critics praised Amy Adams's and Hank Azaria's performances. Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune awarded the film 3 stars stating that "...she's terrific -- a sparkling screen presence."[10] Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a B+ stating "Battle of the Smithsonian has plenty of life. But it's Adams who gives it zing."[11] Perry Seibert of TV Guide gave the film 2 stars despite honoring that "thanks to Azaria, a master of comic timing. His grandiose, yet slightly fey bad guy is equally funny when he's chewing out minions as he is when deliberating if Oscar the Grouch and Darth Vader are evil enough to join his team.[12] Michael Rechtshaffen of the Hollywood Reporter and A.O. Scott of the New York Times enjoyed both performances.[13] [14]

However, most critics panned the movie on its excessive use on special effects as noted by Scott Tobias of the A.V. Club when he described the film as "a baffling master plot and a crowded pileup of special effects in search of something to do."[15]

Sequel

On Tuesday, May 26, 2009, it was announced that there will be a third film in the series titled Night At The Museum 3: History Repeats Itself. Filming will begin in February 2010, with Little Fockers being pushed back to 2011 or 2012. Ben Stiller will be making a reportedly $80 million dollars, as well as reaping 50% of the box office intake.

Box office

On Friday, May 22, 2009, its opening day, the film's estimated gross was $15,300,000, coming in ahead of Terminator Salvation (which released on Thursday) in 4,096 theaters at #1, reaching up to $53.5 million on its opening weekend,[16] with Night at the Museum reaches to $30 million on its opening weekend on December 2006.

Music

The score to Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian was composed by Alan Silvestri, who reunites with director Shawn Levy after working together on the first film. Silvestri recorded his score with a 103-piece ensemble of the Hollywood Studio Symphony and an 18-person choir at the Newman Scoring Stage at 20th Century Fox. The soundtrack and closing credits feature "Fly With Me" by the Pop music rock band Jonas Brothers from their upcoming fourth album, Lines, Vines and Trying Times. In addition, the ending featured Coldplay's song "Life In Technicolor".[17]

Video game

Main article: Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (video game)

The video game based on the film was released on May 5, 2009.

References

  1. ^ Tatiana Siegel (2008-06-02). "Ed Helms mans 'Manure'". Variety. Retrieved 2008-11-11.
  2. ^ Fluge (2008-09-08). "Night At The Museum 2:Battle of the Smithsonian". Fluge Movie Info. Retrieved 2009-09-08.
  3. ^ "Clint Howard". imdb.com. Retrieved 2009-04-15.
  4. ^ Oscar the Grouch Comes to Life in "Night at the Museum 2"
  5. ^ http://siarchives.si.edu/exhibits/SIintheMovies/index.htm
  6. ^ Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009)
  7. ^ "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian Movie Reviews, Pictures". Rotten Tomatoes. IGN Entertainment. Retrieved 2009-05-22.
  8. ^ "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian Movie Reviews, Pictures - Cream of the Crop". Rotten Tomatoes. IGN Entertianment. Retrieved 2009-05-22.
  9. ^ "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009): Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2009-05-22.
  10. ^ "Toys in the nation's attic - Amy Adams a treasure in the 'Museum' sequel". Chicago Tribune. 2009-05-20. Retrieved 2009-05-22.
  11. ^ "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian - Entertianment Weekly". Entertainment Weekly. 2009-05-19. Retrieved 2009-05-22.
  12. ^ "Night At The Museum: Battle Of The Smithsonian: Review". TV Guide. Retrieved 2009-05-22.
  13. ^ "Film Review: Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian". Hollywood Reporter. 2009-05-20. Retrieved 2009-05-22.
  14. ^ "Movie Review: Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009) - Dad's at Another Museum. Does That Make Him an Exhibitionist?". New York Times. 2009-05-22. Retrieved 2009-05-22.
  15. ^ "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian Review - A.V. Club". A.V. Club. 2009-05-21. Retrieved 2009-05-22.
  16. ^ "Daily Box Office". Box Office Mojo. May 22, 2009. Retrieved May 23, 2009.
  17. ^ Dan Goldwasser (2009-04-28). "Alan Silvestri scores Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian". ScoringSessions.com. Retrieved 2009-04-28. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

External links

Preceded by Box office number-one films of 2009 (USA)
May 24 		Succeeded by
TBD
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