Night At the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian

First Review: Night at the Museum 2: Battle at the Smithsonian is the blockbuster sequel to the original Ben Stiller movie where all the exhibits in the musuem come to life. This time, Stiller (Larry Daley) is getting rich selling dumb products like a glow in the dark flashlight on infomercials. But he has a void inside. He really misses the museaum and all its exhibits that come to life. Daley is shocked to learn that many of the exhibits are being shipped to the Smithsonian archives. There's a bigger problem. The artifact that makes the exhibits come to life is going as well.

This movie is really all about the action in the Smithsonian and the fun when the new exhibits come to life. Hank Azaria is great as an ancient pharoh that wants Daley to figure out a secret code that will unleash the power of the dead soldiers...wait, I didn't quite understand the plot. Let's just say sides form between the good (General Custer, Amelia Earhart, Abe Lincoln, Albert Einstien) and the bad (Ivan the Terrible, Napolean, Al Capone) and a battle ensues.

Some of the good include the paintings that come to life and what happens when the tablet is brought to the air and space building. There is pure pandemonium as everything comes to life. For the bad, well, this movie is just mindless fun. The son is wasted and so is Ricky Gervais. Also, the moral at the end isn't needed in a movie like this.

This is a great summer movie for the family. Adults can enjoy it and be thankful they won't have to shield their kids' eyes or ears for any bad parts.

Category: Action
All Genres:Action, Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy
Release Year: 2009
Country:USA
Runtime: 105 minutes
Rating: 6.5/10
Languages: English

Director:

Shawn Levy

Sound: Dolby Digital, SDDS, DTS

Writing by :

Robert Ben Garant - writer
Thomas Lennon
- writer

Produced by:

Michael Barnathan - producer

Chris Columbus - producer
Thomas M. Hammel - executive producer

Shawn Levy - producer

Josh McLaglen - executive producer

Mark Radcliffe - producer

Ellen Somers - associate producer

Music By:

Alan Silvestri

Cast:

Ben Stiller - Larry Daley
Amy Adams - Amelia Earhart
Owen Wilson - Jedediah Smith
Hank Azaria - Kahmunrah
Robin Williams - Teddy Roosevelt
Christopher Guest - Ivan the Terrible
Alain Chabat - Napoleon Bonaparte
Steve Coogan - Octavius
Ricky Gervais - Dr. McPhee
Bill Hader - General George Armstrong Custer
Jon Bernthal - Al Capone
Patrick Gallagher - Attila the Hun
Jake Cherry - Nicky Daley
Rami Malek - Ahkmenrah
Mizuo Peck - Sacajawea
Kerry van der Griend - Neanderthal #1
Matthew Harrison - Neanderthal #2
Rick Dobran - Neanderthal #3
Randy Lee - Hun #1
Darryl Quon - Hun #2
Gerald Wong - Hun #3
Paul Chih-Ping Cheng - Hun #4
Jay Baruchel - Sailor Joey Motorola
Mindy Kaling - Docent
Keith Powell - Tuskegee Airman #1
Craig Robinson - Tuskegee Airman #2
Samuel Patrick Chu - Teenage Boy #1 (as Samuel Chu)
Augustus Oicle - Teenage Boy #2
Kai James - Teenage Boy #3
Thomas Morley - Darth Vader
Clint Howard - Air and Space Mission Control Tech #1
Matty Finochio - Air and Space Mission Control Tech #2
George Foreman - Himself
Josh Byer - Capone Gangster #1
Sophie Levy - Young Girl #1
Tess Levy - Young Girl #2
Alberta Mayne - Kissing Nurse
Christina Schild - 'American Gothic' Woman
Robert Thurston - 'American Gothic' Farmer
Clifton MaCabe Murray - Kissing Sailor (as Clifton Murray)
Caroll Spinney - Oscar the Grouch
Dan Joffre - Town Car Driver
Dave Hospes - Astronaut
Regina Taufen - New York Reporter
Shawn Levy - Infomercial Father
Kevin Jonas - Cherub #1 (voice)
Joe Jonas - Cherub #2 (voice)
Nick Jonas - Cherub #3 (voice)
Brad Garrett - Easter Island Head
Eugene Levy - Albert Einstein

Official Website:Visit Website

Plot: Two years after Larry Daley (Ben Stiller) defeated the three night guards plotting to steal The Tablet, he is now head of Daley Devices, a company that he founded to manufacture his inventions. These inventions, including the Glow-in-the-Dark Flashlight, the Unloseable Keyring, and the Oversized Dogbone, were created from his experiences as a former night guard. Upon revisiting, he finds that the American Museum of Natural History is closed for upgrades and renovations, and some of the museum pieces are being replaced by interactive holograms due to budget costs. The actual exhibits are due to be moved to the Federal Archives at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC. On the last night, Larry reconnects with his museum exhibit friends including Theodore Roosevelt (Robin Williams), Rexy the Tyrannosaurus Skeleton, and Dexter the Capuchin Monkey (Crystal the Monkey) and finds out that several exhibits, including Theodore, Rexy, The Easter Island Head (Brad Garrett), and good Pharaoh Ahkmenrah (Rami Malek) and his Tablet are not moving to the Smithsonian Institution - without the Tablet of Ahkmenrah, the other exhibits will no longer be animated, something which Teddy has not told them so they can enjoy their last night. The next night, Larry gets a call from Jedediah (Owen Wilson), saying that Dexter stole the tablet last midnight and evil Pharaoh Kahmunrah (Hank Azaria), Ahkmenrah's older brother, is attacking them. Larry goes 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 Daley (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 gets hold of the Tablet of Ahkmenrah, which had been stolen by Dexter, 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 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 the spunky Amelia Earhart (Amy Adams), who is thrilled at the prospect of adventure and accompanies Larry. Larry and Amelia then go through an assortment of paintings and trap Kahmunrah's men in one. Meanwhile, Kahmunrah is able to recruit Evil Russian Czar Ivan The Terrible (Christopher Guest}, Evil French General Napoleon Bonaparte (Alain Chabat), and Evil Black And White 1920/30s American Gangster/Mobster/Gang Leader Al Capone (Jon Bernthal) 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 (he will scream "Attack!" and the exhibits will jump out and attack), Jedediah and Octavius (Steve Coogan) sneak out to help Larry.

They are found out by one of Al Capone's henchmen, and Jedediah tells Octavius to run away while he distracts them, which leads him to get captured and placed in a bird cage. (Kahmunrah thinks he's adorable) Octavius sees this and vows to get reinforcements and save him.

Larry and Amelia are captured by Napoleon 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 Jedediah 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 pharaoh's tomb. The duo then consult The Thinker, but he gets distracted by a beautiful statue of Aphrodite. Finally, at the National Air and Space Museum, they consult a group of Albert Einstein bobbleheads who tell them that the answer to the riddle (and hence the new combination) is pi (they mean, treat the tablet like a phone number order and activate the combination). Larry and Amelia fly the Wright Flyer to the Lincoln Memorial for a short while, return to the Smithsonian Castle, and Amelia goes for help while Larry delays Kahmunrah. Capone, Napoleon and Ivan arrive and tell him the code (having intimidated one of the Einstein bobbleheads into revealing it to them), 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 arrives, having freed the other exhibits, and Custer orders them to attack (by saying "We will NOT attack!"). During this battle, Octavius frees Jedediah, who is now covered in sand to the head, by smashing the glass with his helmet. They then attack one of Al Capone's henchmen by hitting his shoe with swords alá 300. Larry then duels Kahmunrah with his flashlight, defeating him and then pushing him through the gate, which banishes him to the underworld forever.

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 goodbye and kiss before Amelia flies away, leaving Larry outside the museum. Some time later, it is revealed that Larry generously sold his company and donated the money to the museum to pay for Audio-Animatronics exhibits - since the museum now opens late, the exhibits can come to life under the guise of animatronically animated exhibits, including Teddy as a tour guide, Ahkmenrah and Dexter displaying the Tablet, and Attila as a storyteller. Larry is rehired at the museum as the night guard so as to watch over the rest of his friends, and meets a young woman who looks just like Amelia. The film concludes as they talk and walk off as Larry guides her toward the hall of miniatures. Jedediah then flies by in a miniature airplane. During the credits, a man from a black and white photo of V-J day in Times Square is seen examining Larry's Blackberry cell phone, which Larry left in the photo, and makes a new discovery (for his time period). His mother calls him, and it is revealed that his name is Joey Motorola.

Goofs:

• Factual errors: The Smithsonian Institution does maintain storage for items not on display in the museums but they are located throughout the Washington D.C. suburbs, not in sub basements under the museums.
• Errors in geography: The quick cuts between scenes in the Air and Space museum, the White House, and the Lincoln memorial imply that they adjacent. However the White House is 1 mile away and the Lincoln Memorial is over 1.6 miles away.
• Continuity: The light on top of the Capitol is first shown as on when Larry and Amelia race to the Air & Space Museum. In later shots it is off. The light is supposed to be lit only on the rare occasion when the House or Senate are in session at night.
• Factual errors: The Archives is not part of the Smithsonian Institution. It is also the U.S. Archives, not the "Federal Archives."
• Factual errors: The Wright Flyer is seen soaring high in the night sky above D.C., yet the actual flyer was incapable of such aerial feats. The best result achieved by the flyer was a very low-level 'hop' over a distance of just 852 feet.
• Continuity: When Larry first arrives at the Air & Space Museum he sees the twin seat, twin canopy Air Force jet with both aircrew in the cockpits looking at him. Shortly after the aircraft is shown facing the other direction (no aircrew are in the jet) and one is walking on the ground below the aircraft. Not enough time passed for the aircrew to get out of the plane nor for Larry to change his visual perspective of the jet.
• Continuity: In the first scene that General Custer (Bill Hader) is announcing his attack plans and asks if there's any questions, he tries to pronounce Sacajawea's name the first time, he is clearly standing on a crate above everyone else. The second time he tries, he is at the same level of everyone else. On his final attempt to pronounce her name, he's back on top of the crate.
• Incorrectly regarded as goofs: Although George Armstrong Custer is typically portrayed with long hair and referred to as General, he had been reduced to his permanent rank of Captain after the Civil War. He was a Lieutenant Colonel at the time of his death at Little Big Horn - and had also cut his hair short to protect himself against being scalped. However, it's apparent that here he's portrayed in his Civil War "glory days" - he has a major general's shoulder boards and his double-breasted frock coat has the correct number of buttons. Additionally, he has his trademark red scarf and pin he wore on it at the time. Finally, he's portrayed as the 20-something he was 12 years before his death in Montana.
• Factual errors: During the chaotic scene in the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum when aircraft are flying around and rockets are preparing to launch, a US Navy aircraft carrier flight deck crew is seen preparing to launch an F-104 Starfighter. The Starfighter was a US Air Force fighter from the 1950s and 1960s, and was incapable of operating from aircraft carriers.
• Factual errors: There is no lettering on the outside of the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum indicating the name of the museum.
• Plot holes: In the end of the first movie, Nicky is told to turn the center tile in the tablet to bring everything to life. In this movie, Larry could have just turned the center tile when the fight was going on and he had the tablet in his hands.
• Continuity: When the Wright Flyer is flying in the National Air and Space Museum, the timing chain is moving. While outside the chain has stopped moving, although the propellers are still turning. There is nothing in the plot to indicate that they ran out of gas.
• Factual errors: Two of the paintings on the wall in the art gallery - Grant Wood's "American Gothic" and Edward Hopper's "Nighthawks" - are not part of any collection in Washington DC, but are part of the collection and on display at the Art Institute of Chicago.
• Factual errors: Larry and Amelia Earhart take off in the original 1903 Wright Flyer. The Flyer in the Smithsonian was donated to the Smithsonian by the estate or Orville Wright. The Flyer is also only capable of carrying one person.
• Factual errors: The Einsteins explain that the answer to the riddle is "pi", "exactly 3.141592654". Pi is an irrational number and has no exact expansion in any number of digits - the combination would literally go on forever.
• Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Napoléon Bonaparte is heard to have a Gallic accent. It is known that he never had one to speak of, always speaking French (a second language of his) with a Corsican accent, which sounds closer to an Italian accent.
• Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Custer is portrayed with a southern (perhaps Virginian) accent, but was born in Ohio and raised in Michigan, and was an officer of the Union army.
• Revealing mistakes: When the giant octopus jumps into the reflecting pond in front of the Lincoln Memorial, it shows him jumping into a pool deep enough that he has to float up a bit to have most of his body above the surface. In actuality, the pool is only 30 inches deep at the very center of the pool.
• Incorrectly regarded as goofs: Auguste Rodin's sculpture "The Thinker" is shown to be part of the Smithsonian collection. Although the original is housed in Musée Rodin in Paris, France, the National Gallery of Art (upon which the movie's "Washington Art Museum" is based) does posses one of the many duplicates.
• Continuity: When the Wright brothers see Amelia Earhart fly off they say "she is good" as though they don't know who she is. Seconds later when she lands they know her name.
• Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): In a scene with the monkeys, Ben Stiller's character mentions that the Able and Dexter are proud Capuchins when in fact, Able is a Rhesus monkey. (However, Larry is not a monkey expert.)
• Continuity: Larry Daley passes General Custer as he's walking through the archives. When Larry comes upon the crate, the 'frozen' Egyptians are outside of the crate with their spears. Larry looks inside and the camera shows General Custer already in the crate. Once everybody comes to life General Custer comes out of nowhere to rescue Daley riding a motorcycle with a side car.
• Factual errors: Custer introduces himself as "General Custer of the 7th U.S. Cavalry." He was a brevet major general only during the Civil War and, at that time, was in command of the 3rd Cavalry Division. After the war, when he commanded the 7th U.S. Cavalry, he was a lieutenant colonel.
• Continuity: When Larry and Amelia are in the Lincoln Monument hiding from Ivan the Terrible's men, Larry has the tablet of Ahkmenrah in his hands. But when Larry and Amelia are trying to convince Abraham Lincoln to stay inside the monument, Larry does not have the tablet anymore. Then when they leave, he has it again.
• Anachronisms: On the shoulder of the Tuskegee Airmen, their 'American Flag' patch is seen having 50 stars. At the time of WWII, the US flag only had 48, and 48 would have been the number they'd wear.
• Factual errors: One location in the movie is the National Gallery of Art. While it is located on the National Mall, it is not part of the Smithsonian.
• Factual errors: Larry tells his son that the Smithsonian is actually a collection of 19 museums (true). He also says that they are located on the National Mall. Some are actually located in New York City, Chantilly VA and other parts of Washington D.C. The National Zoo is also part of the Smithsonian group of museums.
• Factual errors: Amelia Earhart's red Lockheed Vega carries no more than two people and would not reach New York City in a half an hour. They had only one hour until sunrise. The train takes three hours and a jet aircraft would take almost an hour. (Also the Smithsonian only preserves their exhibits and does not maintain their aircraft in flight ready condition.)
• Incorrectly regarded as goofs: In the first Night at the Museum film, it was explained that at sunrise, anything that gets left outside the museum after being brought to life turns to dust. In the second film, the statue of Abraham Lincoln sits outside, so technically at sunrise after being brought to life, the statue should turn to dust. However, as the statue of Lincoln was inside its enclosure at dawn, the statue would not turn to dust, as it was technically "inside".
• Plot holes: If the combination on the tablet were changed, why would the clue to the new combination be encoded on the tablet? Shouldn't the clue be to the old combination?
• Factual errors: Larry and Amelia Earhart both fly the Wright Flyer using a stick control. It was actually controlled using a mechanism attached to the pilot's hips whereby he could turn the aircraft by shifting his body from side to side.

Trivia:

• This is the 2nd time a movie has featured both Abraham Lincoln and Napoleon. The first was Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989).
• Hank Azaria had previously worked with Ben Stiller in Mystery Men (1999). Azaria also made cameo appearances in Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004) and Along Came Polly (2004), both of which also starred Stiller.
• Director Shawn Levy told a National Public Radio interviewer that once the Smithsonian Institution agreed to lend their name to the film, their curators were very helpful and willing to share information about the real-life characters represented in the movie, but Levy had more trouble with the intellectual property-holders for the fictional characters represented. For instance, for a scene in which Darth Vader interacts with the pharaoh played by Hank Azaria, there was a person on the set who came from LucasFilm and whose job it was to observe all scenes filmed that involved Darth Vader and to tell the filmmakers what Vader would or wouldn't do.
• Cameo: [Jonah Hill] Uncredited cameo as the Smithsonian guard 'Brandon'.
• Writers Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon make cameos as Wilbur & Orville Wright.
• Robin Williams's character of Teddy Roosevelt is briefly seen as a holographic tour guide who will ask any question given to him. Williams played a similar character, "Dr. Know," in Artificial Intelligence: AI (2001).
• In the Air and Space Museum, Larry meets the Wright Brothers. Steve Coogan and Owen Wilson previously appeared together in Around the World in 80 Days (2004), in which Wilson and his brother Luke Wilson played the Wright Brothers.
• Jedediah refers to himself as a "midnight cowboy," no doubt a reference to Midnight Cowboy (1969), a film about a cowboy (of sorts) in New York City.
• The "mysterious" theme from the Indiana Jones films is heard several times while Larry is exploring the crated treasures in the Smithsonian vaults.
• Hank Azaria's performance is a nod to Boris Karloff because Karloff played Im-Ho-Tep in the Universal film The Mummy (1932) and Karloff had a distinct English accent with a slight lisp.
• The first movie ever filmed in the Smithsonian Institution.
• Cameo: [Clint Howard] Ron Howard's brother makes a cameo like a flight commander in the Aeuronautic Center. He did the same role in Apollo 13 (1995), directed by his brother.
• It's the ninth film with Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson after The Cable Guy (1996), Permanent Midnight (1998), Meet the Parents (2000), Zoolander (2001), The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), Starsky & Hutch (2004), Meet the Fockers (2004) and Night at the Museum (2006).
• Most of the artworks shown are not part of the Smithsonian's collection. "American Gothic" and "Nighthawks" are located at the Art Institute of Chicago, "The Thinker" at the Musee Rodin in Paris, "Venus Italica" at the North Carolina Museum of Art, and the Degas ballerina at the Royal Academy in London. The organization of the collection actually suggests a very small museum, as pieces from such different genres would ordinarily be grouped with similar pieces.
• Reese Witherspoon was originally set to play Amelia Earhart.
• The motorcycle that Larry uses as a getaway vehicle is a rare 1942 Harley Davidson XA Military Side Valve 750cc Flat Twin with attached sidecar. This was Harley's copy of the German BMW/Zundapp military motorcycles.
• Additional comic relief is added in the German version due to the fact that the Einsteins are dubbed by Jean Pütz, a famous science journalist and TV host.
• Multiple actors in this movie have connections to "The Office" (2005): Ricky Gervais (Mr. McPhee) is a writer and star of the original British series. 'Mindy Kaling' (who appears as a tour guide at the Smithsonian) plays "Kelly" on the US version. Amy Adams appeared in a few episodes as Katy in the US version. Craig Robinson (who appears as one of the Tuskeegee Airmen) stars as Daryl in the US version. Ed Helms (who plays an employee of Larry's) is Andy Bernard in the US version.
• Amelia says in the movie that she became a pilot, "for the fun of it!" "For the fun of it!" is a reference to the book Amelia wrote herself called The Fun of It (1932). It is a memoir of her flying experiences and an essay on women in aviation

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