Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian

I had few expectations when I walked into the newest Ben Stiller family comedy franchise, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian. As long as I had a seat in the theater (I did) and the movie ran from start to finish on time (ehh, better luck next time) it would have sufficed. I am quick to admit watching the original Night at the Museum provides me an excellent nap, and whenever it's on HBO, I still find myself dozing off twenty minutes in. Although it is a great concept, and something that attracts the inner 6 year-old, the original just never excited me.

I was pleasantly surprised when I was quickly drawn into the wonderfully whimsical world that lives after hours in the New York Museum of Natural History. Larry Daley (Ben Stiller) quit his security guard job at the Museum two years prior to pursue his dream of inventing infomercial gadgets. He returns the night before the Museum closes for upgrades and renovations, and discovers this is also the last night for the magical museum figures to walk the halls. As they do not match the Museum's new "modern" initiative, the aging pieces are being sent, unknowingly, to the Smithsonian Institute's National Archives. As the night comes to an end and the pieces repack themselves into their crates, Larry bids a silent farewell and returns to his new life--never expecting the frantic call for help from Jedediah (Owen Wilson) a few days later. Larry rushes to Washington D.C. to help his friends fight off the evil Kahmunrah (Hank Azaria) who has finally been brought back to life by the magical stone his father entrusted his younger brother with--the source that awakens all the other museum pieces. With the help of many Smithsonian favorites and a spunky and show-stealing Amelia Earhart (Amy Adams), Larry must battle for the freedom of all the museum pieces, before Kahmunrah makes his return a permanent one!

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian is truly a family affair, matching historical figures with a sense of lively adventure. Now every time I go to the Air and Space Museum, I will secretly hope the Wright Brother's plane takes flight overhead.