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Incorporating education into entertainment has been done a thousand times and while it doesn’t always go down well with critics, it would appear to be a huge hit with the cinema going public. Most recently it has worked for National Treasure which grossed over $300 million worldwide and then again in 2007 with National Treasure: Book of Secrets which made over $400 million. Night at the Museum 2 aims to follow in the same suit with Larry Daley and friends hoping their sequel to Night at the Museum (grossing over $500 million worldwide!) will be just as successful.

No longer working as night watchman at the New York Museum of Natural History, Larry (Stiller) has set up Daley Devices; a company that uses infomercials to sells it’s useful and ‘ingenious’ gadgets to make everyday life easier. The museum, on the other hand, isn’t doing so well and now being faced with closure, the exhibits must to be shipped off the Smithsonian where they will be locked away in their extensive archive of world history.  But when the Capuchin Monkey steals Akhmenrah’s tablet (the thing that makes everything come alive at night) and takes it along for the ride the whole museum is awaked including Kahmunrah, (Azaria) the older brother of Akhmenrah who wants to use the tablet in his bid for world domination. Now Larry and his new side-kick Amelia Earhart (the first woman pilot to fly across the Atlantic played by Adams) have just one night to foil his plan and save the world.

The film takes the exact same approach as the original; right down to the face slapping monkey’s. Ben Stiller later revealed he hated working with ‘Dexter’ at a recent press conference attended by Azaria, Stiller and Gervais at London’s Claridges Hotel. He also revealed that this outing might not be the last.
 
Night at the Museum 2 is stuffed with a multitude of historical characters including Abraham Lincoln, Al Capone, Napoleon and the Tuskegee Air Men (the first black airmen who flew during World War II). The only problem is that while the first movie was somewhat novel, said novelty has worn off and the film often feels like a fast-paced history lesson rather than a credible action comedy for the whole family.

Only Adam, Stiller and Azaria are in the film for an extended period of time as, due to the amount of them, the rest of the cast frequently come in and out and it’s a shame to not see more of the hilarious Ricky Gervais as the uptight Museum Director, Dr McPhee. It’s also a shame that comedy genius Stiller is not that funny and it’s master of disguise Azaria who gives the best performance of the three; not only playing Kahmunrah but also providing the voice for Abraham Lincoln and Rodin’s The Thinking Man – who actually turns out to be surprisingly stupid. Also keep an eye out for the current teen sensation, The Jonas Brothers who provide the voice for the all-singing, all-dancing cherubim’s.

Night at the Museum 2 isn’t as good as the first, but if you like the idea of going to the cinema rather than the library for a quick-stop-tour of world history, then this big budget sequel will be right up your street.