Saturday, June 29, 2013
Review: Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
Review: Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian |
| Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian Posted: 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. |
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