Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian

Ben Stiller does a nice reprise of his role as Larry, and the returning cast from the first film includes Robin Williams as Teddy Roosevelt, Owen Wilson as Jed the cowboy and Steve Coogan as Octavius the centurion. The sequel’s cast is even better this time around, leading with a standout performance by Amy Adams as Amelia Earhart (first woman pilot to cross the Atlantic).

As for the other Museum newbies, Hank Azaria steals his scenes as the lisping pharaoh Kahmunrah (the brother of Akhmunrah), and Larry impresses rival guard Jonah Hill with some night watchman ninjitsu. Bill Hader puts in a fizzy performance as a vainglorious and awfully dumb General Custer, who still hasn’t got the whole surprise attack thing down. Even the voice acting is pretty sweet, including Eugene Levy as a series of bobble-head Albert Einstein toys that brilliantly deduce the key to using the Egyptian tablet.

Larry and Amelia are serenaded by a trio of Italian putti, who look and sound an awful lot like the Jonas Brothers.

Far more engaging and better-paced than its predecessor, director Shawn Levy finds the formula to enchant both kids and their parents. This time, taking place in the world’s largest repository of history, art and pop culture, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian ups the ante on all sides to deliver a delightfully fun family film.

Level of difficulty in watching Night at the Museum: Battle for the Smithsonian: *Relatively easy. Maybe not as fresh and unique as the first NATM, the sequel has enough laugh-out-loud moments to enjoy.