The thing about sequels is they’re not supposed to surprise you. They may be bigger and more spectacular, they may even have a few more guest stars – and in the case of the Pirates of the Caribbean sequels they may also be completely incomprehensible – but they’re unlikely to be bolder or indeed better. Because, let’s face it, their only reason for being is to get the same bums back on the same seats as the first movie. If they manage to draw in a few extra bums that were in Outer Mongolia when the original came out, that’s an added bonus, but it’s not essential.
Sequels are multiplex comfort food and that’s exactly what Night at the Museum 2 is all about. This is good solid meat and potatoes family fare. Top of the menu we have the same all-star comic cast - Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson and Steve Coogan joined by Ricky Gervais and Robin Williams in glorified cameos – with a little extra fire power coming from Amy Adams’s spiffing Amelia Earhart and Hank Azaria’s lisping Egyptian baddie, as well as Napoleon, Al Capone, Ivan the Terrible, some bobble-head Einsteins and a giant squid (to name a few).
The gimmicky museum-exhibits-come-to-life plot is also back, but this time Stiller is no longer a lowly night guard, he’s evolved into a useless gadget entrepreneur who’s surgically attached to his Blackberry. But then his waxwork pals are relocated to the Smithsonian in Washington DC, and he has to race to the rescue while rediscovering his ‘moxie’ – i.e. getting rid of that darn Blackberry. (FYI, the Smithsonian is the biggest museum in the world according to this movie, just in case you were wondering.)
In the end, the scattershot comedy on offer takes in Hank’s Egyptian having to defend his cross-dressing tendencies, Stiller running around a lot, looking perplexed and snogging Amelia Earhart, a fabulous sequence in which some classic American artworks come to life, Jonah Hill in an unbilled little skit as another museum guard, the statue at the Lincoln Memorial giving dating advice, the Jonas Brothers as a trio of cupids and General Custer finding out he’s not a useless general after all (yeah, right!).
Of course, those of us not well-versed in US history and culture won’t be as awestruck as we’re supposed to be by some of the CGI. And Azaria’s comic baddie turns out to be too much of a good thing. He’s very funny, yes, but he’s also not remotely threatening, which robs the movie of any real tension or suspense. But there are enough enjoyable bits and pieces here to keep parents and kids entertained even if they never quite make up a satisfying whole.
Night at the Museum 2 gets the job done. There are no surprises, but it’s as good as the first movie — and in places a great deal better. Ricky Gervais’s David Brent-style museum boss being a lot less toe-curlingly unfunny, for a start.
On general release from 20th May
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