Battle of the Smithsonian is by no means a terrible movie, but compared to all the hilarious antics of the 1st, and all the freshness and originality, it disappointed me heavily. The Museum they picked is not as insightful or magical as the one in the original, bigger does not always mean better, and I didn't care for most of the new characters they picked. Owen Wilson's Jedediah is more irritating than anything else now, and Robin William's witty portrayal of Teddy Roosevelt is sadly wasted for the most part. Ben Stiller is slumming it here, on auto pilot so to speak, and everything just seems so crammed together with not that much heart or effort into it, but the effects definitely were. Amy Adam's "Amelia Earhart" and Hank Azaria's Kahmunrah were probably the best characters in the film in my opinion, I laughed my ass off when Hank made fun of Darth Vader. This is a fine example of where they should leave well enough alone, Night At The Museum didn't need a sequel, and while this wasn't awful, I'll stick with the original.
Performances. Ben Stiller is OK and has some funny bits, but he's on auto pilot here a lot of the time, and I didn't sense the same enthusiasm I did in the 1st with him. Amy Adams is great fun as Amelia Earnhart, and I enjoyed every second she was on-screen. Owen Wilson is annoying here in my opinion, and while I enjoyed him a lot of the time in the original, here he got on my nerves. Hank Azaria is hilarious as Kahmunrah, he stole a lot of the scenes he was in. Robin Williams is wasted as Teddy, but shines with the scenes he has. Some of the crew from the original like Steve Coogan, Ricky Gervais, and Jake Cherry come back, but are given little to do.
Bottom line. This had its moments, but I was really quite disappointed with the overall quality of it. It just seemed half-baked in my opinion, and just made to make some quick cash. Worth a watch on a lazy day, but I'd go get the original.
5 1/2 /10
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