Night at The Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian: DVD Edition
Review by JAM

“Hang on Mr. Daley, things are about to get interesting.” Amelia Earhart (Amy Adams)

Larry Daley (played by the booming Ben Stiller) is back for a second go at the crazed antics of a mystical museum as the tablet of Ahkmenrah brings to life a new cast of characters in the Smithsonian Archives, including Ahkmenrah’s evil brother Pharaoh Kahmunrah (played by a scene-stealing, lisping Hank Azariah). In order to free his friends Larry must help Kahmunrah and his minions, Al Capone, Napoleon Bonaparte, and Ivan the Awesome (also known as the Terrible). Even with the world in peril, Larry and his museum friends, both new and old, lead the charge into battle and save the world from its pending doom. Excellent actors get to lend their talents to new museum pieces including Amy Adams as Amelia Earhart, Robin Williams as Teddy Roosevelt’s bust, Christopher Guest as the aforementioned Ivan, and many returning friends like Owen Wilson as Jed makes this a historic undertaking through the Smithsonian.

At the heart of the Night at the Museum movies are family values and lessons learned. While the first movie truly lead a father back to his son and the discovery of himself, this second movie finds Larry making money like crazy, but losing himself in the daily grind of his own company, and throughout the movie he finds parts of himself he had lost, whether it was the night watchman fighting style, his lost friendships, and the ability to love again. Of course at the same time, we want to see Larry put through the ringer (which he is) and come out on top (which he does). All in all, it is a good heart-felt comedy with a little something for everyone from fans of Sesame Street to Star Wars.

As a little add-on about Hank Azaria, I swore many times in the first Night at the Museum due to facial expressions that Ahkmenrah was played by Hank Azaria (the facial expressions reminded me of one of his great characters . I even had to check multiple times on IMDB to make sure he hadn’t (Ahkmenrah has been played both times by Rami Malek who also gets the Brendon Fraser look at times as well). So imagine my surprise when I saw Hank playing the older but evil brother. It’s a tiny bit of coincidence that surprised and amused me. I highly recommend this movie for a fun night of history and comedy

Extras

What can I say about the extras but WOW!!! The Alternate Ending in the Deleted Scenes, the Curators of Comedy, and Phinding Pharaoh make the movie worth its weight in gold in my opinion. And if you are a teenage girl in love with the Jonas Brothers, seeing them be put through a comedy bootcamp may be the greatest thing ever. Phinding Pharaoh gives a great insight into the ability to use Hank Azaria’s vocal range to make a character that much stronger in the movie. I do have to say that his Boris Karloff came off as a lisp to me, but it was hilarious and that’s what they were looking for with the character, an evil maniacal despot who sounded funny. The review pack also came with the Monkey Mischief DVD as well, with games and an insight into the life of monkey movie stars.

Bonus Features include:

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 – Great look into the minds of some amazing comedians on how to make an enjoyable picture, both for the audience and the cast themselves.
Deleted Scenes:
Brunden: The Director’s Cut – extended version of museum meeting
World Twister – Funny exchange between Capone and his future self
How Many Bad Guys Can You Fit in an Elevator – self-explanatory
Moon Rover – Good scene to watch
Takin’ Em Down, Gangster Style – Ivan the Awesome with good insight
Alternate Ending – Best of the Bunch, with the return of the bad guys from the first movie.
Gag Reel – Hilarious outtakes from the set
Phinding Pharaoh – Highly recommended!!! Hank Azaria working on the voice of Kahmunrah
The Jonas Brothers in Cherub Bootcamp
Trailers
Monkey Mischief
Monkey Business
Primate Prima Donnas
The Secret Life of a Monkey Movie Star: Life Off Camera
Games
Monkey Slap
Able and Dexter’s Flights of Fancy

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian from 20th Century Fox makes a historic entrance on December 1, 2009. Prepare to be educated and amused!