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List Price: $29.98 | | Label: 20th Century Fox
Salesrank: 1
Released: December 1, 2009 |
| Our Price: $9.99 |
| Used Price: $16.15 |
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MPAA Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
History is larger than life—and twice as funny—in this monumental comedy sequel that’s “better than the original” (At the Movies)! Ben Stiller leads an all-star cast (including Amy Adams, Owen Wilson, Hank Azaria and Robin Williams) as Larry Daley, a former night watchman at the Museum of Natural History, where the exhibits come to life after dark. But now Larry’s nocturnal friends are being retired to the archives of the Smithsonian Institution, luring him back for a hilarious, all-out battle against museum misfits who plan to take over the Smithsonian...and the world!
| Specs: |  | Audio: English: 5.1 Dolby Digital / Spanish & French: Dolby Surround
Language: Dubbed & Subtitled: English, French & Spanish
Theatrical Aspect Ratio: Widescreen: 2.35:1
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| Episodes-Bonus Features: | | **Forced Trailers: Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, Percy Jackson, Aliens in the Attic, Flicka 2, Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, Avatar
**Commentary by Director Shawn Levy
**Commentary by Writers Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon
**The Curators of Comedy: Behind the Scenes of Night At The Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
**5 Deleted Scenes with Commentary by Shawn Levy
**Alternate Ending
**Gag Reel
**Phinding Pharoah
**The Jonas Brothers in Cherub Bootcamp
**Trailer Farm: Family Catalog Trailer, Space Chimps 2, Glee, Aliens in the Attic |
Description of Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (Single-Disc Edition):
Ben Stiller wrestles with extinct beasts, historical figures, and meddling monkeys in Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, the sequel to the popular 2006 special-effects extravaganza. This time, the ancient Egyptian tablet (the one that brings all the exhibits at New York's Museum of Natural History to life at night) is being shipped off to the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.--which, as the movie diligently tells us, is the largest museum in the world. Naturally, former museum guard Larry Daley (Ben Stiller) heads down to rescue it (and, by extension, keep his magical museum friends alive). He ends up fighting with a nasty pharaoh who talks like Boris Karloff (Hank Azaria, The Simpsons) and falling in love with Amelia Earhart (Amy Adams, Enchanted). All the old gang are along for the ride, including Dexter the monkey; much face-slapping and special effects ensue. There aren't many surprises, but Battle of the Smithsonian is cheerful enough to entertain everyone who enjoyed the first movie. Extras include commentaries by the director and the writers, the usual self-congratulatory making-of featurette, deleted scenes that are actually as good as the rest of the movie, an alternate ending, and an entirely pointless second disc about Crystal, the capuchin monkey who plays Dexter (the monkey disc has less than a half-hour of material, including two mediocre games). The great supporting cast from the first movie returns, including Owen Wilson, Steve Coogan, and Robin Williams. --Bret Fetzer
Stills from Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (Click for larger image)
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (Single-Disc Edition) Reviews:
Not as great as the first one. 
2009-12-02 - I am a mother in my forties. My kids and I loved the first movie. I didn't like this one. They should of used all new characters. I loved the characters in the first movie, but by using all the same characters in the second movie is what made the sequel boring. It was the new characters that made the sequel somewhat interesting like the Einstein bobbleheads, Abraham Lincoln and Amelia Earhart. The woman who played Amelia Earhart did a great job! The villian in the movie was the stupidest character and pretty much helped ruin the movie. Very poor casting for that character! If you are trying to decide between the two movies to buy, go with the first.
I really liked the first one but this one did not work for me
2009-12-02 - I really liked the first one but this one did not work for me. A week story with too much going on. Unlike the first one, it was hard to be swept away by the magic's believability. Amy Adams is a great actress but Ben Stiller and Amy have no believable romantic chemistry on screen. The Indian girl needed to have a bigger role in the second one. She was great in the first one. There was a lot of well done comedy but the story kept the characters, that we loved so much in the first one, cooped up in a freight container for 70% of the movie's running time.
Seeing the two exhibit monkeys slap Stiller in the face, at the same time, was pretty funny and there was a good gag during the end credits about how the museum magic might have helped the founder of Motorola get his start.
Renting it is OK. See it for the first time by renting it or going to the two dollar cinema, before you buy it. Maybe this movie will grow on me over time but this was my first reaction after seeing it for the first time.
More laughs 
2009-12-02 - This is yet another family-pleasing installment in this series (Can you tell I'm hoping for more?). I thought that I preferred the first one to this one, but after watching this again, it sure does stand up. I think that it has even more laughs than the first. Hank Azaria is absolutely fantastic as Kahmunrah (sp?), and there's a battle of the night guards scene between Ben Stiller and Jonah Hill that is not to be missed.
I think that the first one has a bit more heart, but you can count on at least as many laughs with the Battle of the Smithsonian. Another thing that I liked about it was a bit more of a historical focus. I felt like I learned more about the characters from this particular movie, including Amelia Earhart, the Tuskeegee Airmen, General Custer etc.
This is a great movie for the whole family. My kids are widely spaced (ages 5 and 11), and they both love this movie, and it's a great movie for my husband and I to enjoy as well.
Entertaining and amusing, but doesn't feel as fresh as the first one 
2009-12-01 - Larry Daley (Ben Stiller) is no longer an out-of-work loser who needs to step up to the plate. This time around he's a highly successful CEO and workaholic who needs to slow down and focus on what really matters. That means he's got to accept that his true calling is not to invent new and mostly useless gadgets (like a glowing flashlight and a super-sized doggie bone) but to be an ordinary night guard in a far from ordinary museum.
One thing that was even more evident in this film was that the basic strategy in bringing to life the various historical characters was to create someone who was recognizably similar to the original but somehow insecure or silly. A giant Abe Lincoln was easily the best looking new character in terms of special effects, but his mannerisms and personality were just silly and shallow; unlike with most of the major characters of the original the writers seemed to be making very little effort to draw upon some "historical essence" in the outline of the new folks. Hank Azaria nearly managed to add something with his odd but interesting turn as an incompetent evil Egyptian with a British accent and a lisp, but the real exception and the one element that felt truly fresh in this film was, of course, Amy Adams' characterization of Amelia Earhart. She brought a vitality and spontaneity to the role that was convincing and engaging, and she easily stole every scene she was in. The only unconvincing aspect of her performance was the fault of the writers: her strange romantic attraction for Ben Stiller's character, who only accomplished anything through luck (and a very small amount of pluck) and a cartoonish conviction that he could always manage things because none of it really mattered and things would all turn out right in the end. Her interest in Larry Daley is even more peculiar when it turns out her passion was really just the writer's vehicle for teaching him a valuable life's lesson (something about "seizing the day" and doing whatever makes you happy no matter what it will all amount to in the end).
All the old characters are back, but there's a host of new ones drawn from the Smithsonian, where his old friends are shipped and he is called upon to save the day. As far as I can tell, all of the old characters, including Stiller, are "slumming" this time around. Rather than giving original and interesting performances, they seem like they are just trying to do enough to make it apparent they are the same folks the audience has come to love from last time. Owen Wilson, especially, looks like he hardly cares what's happening. The first film's chemistry between his cowboy and Steve Coogan's centurion has all but disappeared and for the most part Wilson seems resigned just to bury his head in the sand and wait until the movie's over. Sure there are a few new characters and situations, but most of them just seem bigger, not really better. The best moments this time around, and the ones my children enjoyed most, were basically variations on the best moments in the first film: this time Stiller is in a slap-fest with TWO rare monkeys!
If you like silly cartoons - and who doesn't every now and then? - this one's not bad and not boring and holds a few minor surprises. Very young children won't be able to tell the difference between this and a truly original blockbuster summer family entertainment film. Well worth watching if you've got nothing better to do for a couple of hours.
Fun for the whole family. 
2009-12-01 - A great mix of history and fantasy. There are characters that viewers of every age will be able to identify with and a story that keeps you interested through the whole film. The audio and visual effects are awesome and by themselves, would make the movie worth renting. I liked this movie better than the first one. Can't wait to buy it on Bluray.
