The Movie
Former night watchman Larry Daley (Ben Stiller, the hardest-working man in Hollywood comedy?) is now a rich, successful inventor, who hasn't had much time lately to visit his old friends at the Museum of Natural History. Those friends are actually the exhibits--famous historical figures, animals, and even a dinosaur--which come to life each evening thanks to the powers of a magical tablet. But now most of them are being boxed up and shipped to The Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. for deep storage. When an evil Egyptian king (Hank Azaria) sets his sights on the tablet as the means to complete his plan for global domination; with help from Ivan the Terrible, Napoleon and Al Capone; Larry grabs a Mag-Lite and heads down to our nation's capital to save his pals, and possibly the world. And so begins Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian.
We learn that The Smithsonian is actually 19 different museums, so the scale of the quest is increased, and a budding romance with a revived Amelia Earhart (a thoroughly charming Amy Adams, not Hilary Swank) adds just the right sort of complication to keep the parents interested while the kids giggle their little heads off. Lots of educational tidbits and clever gags are interspersed, so expect everyone who watches to be thoroughly entertained.
For a second opinion, check out Joe Lozito's review of Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian.
The Picture
Perhaps owing to the quantity and complexity of the bonus material, this dual-layer BD-50 disc still manages to look a little crowded. The 2.35:1 image shows frequent noise in the shadows, while backgrounds can be soft and even unnatural-looking at times. The overall quality is a little inconsistent as the video can take on an unfortunate haze unless the scene is well-lit and properly focused, leaving much of the movie with a bit of a pall. In the plus column, there's an impressive blend of strong colors and black-and-white at various points, sometimes in the same shot as Capone and his cronies remain monochromatic.
The Sound
As we'd expect, this is a "big" DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack, as the story calls for many large rooms with lots of activity; indoor jets, prop planes and rockets; with an amped-up reality and later outright fantasy forces, as a swarm of hawk warriors attacks. There's ample bass, including a brief homage to a certain popular movie trilogy, and some fun use of the rears for an engrossing 360-degree experience. Throughout it all is another boisterous Alan Silvestri musical score
The Extras
The wealth of bonus features here is like a visit to the gift shop after the Museum. A pair of audio commentaries is included, one from director Shawn Levy, another by writers Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon, who also cameo as The Wright Brothers. The "Scavenger Hunt" viewing mode is terrific next-gen stuff, our choice of either Easy level (a series of icons sits on the left of the screen and we hit the remote when we see one of the people or objects in the movie) or Hard (trivia questions, and we click when the correct answer appears in the film).
"The Curators of Comedy: Behind-the-Scenes of Night at the Museum 2" (28 minutes) explores the efforts made to ensure that this one wasn't just bigger but better. "Historical Confessions: Famous Last Words" (six-and-a-half minutes) serves up in-character interviews with key figures plus factual text. "Directing 201: A Day in the Life of Director/Producer Shawn Levy" (19 minutes) reveals first-hand the many varied demands he faced on-set and off. "Cavemen Conversations: Survival of the Wittiest" (four minutes) is essentially a one-joke, three-way interview with the cave-dwellers. "Museum Magic: Entering the World of the Photograph" (six minutes) shows the making of a particularly cool sequence.
"Secret Doors and Scientists: Behind-the-Scenes of the American Museum of Natural History" introduces us to the real men and women who have embraced all of the attention from the movies, explaining how and why they do what they do (16 minutes). "Phinding Pharaoh" edits together some screen tests as Hank Azaria refines his character (five minutes). "Show Me the Monkey" is a collection of three featurettes focusing on the expertly trained capuchins: "Monkey Business," "Primate Prima Donnas" and The Secret Life of a Movie Star: Life Off Camera" (18 minutes total). "The Jonas Brothers in Cherub Bootcamp" is a faux making of the teen pop trio's cameo as flying stone babies (four minutes).
Twelve deleted, extended and alternate scenes run a total of 27 minutes, with optional director commentary. The two-minute "Gangster Levy" details the creation of a quick gangster movie clip starring the director, for use in the film. The eight-minute Gag Reel, like all of these video extras, is presented in high-definition. The only exceptions are the two SD "Fox Movie Channel Presents" segments, "Making a Scene" and "World Premiere" (nine-and-a-half and five-and-a-half minutes respectively).
Disc Two is a standard-definition DVD of the movie with many of the above-mentioned special features. Disc Three is a DVD-ROM with a Digital Copy of the movie for iTunes and Windows Media.
Final Thoughts
I did find myself wishing that Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian wasn't quite so silly, so much of the time, but it is a family-friendly excursion packed with living wax figures, so I don't really have a complaint coming. And while the picture could be a tad clearer, the sound and bountiful extras make this one a keeper.
Product Details
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