Noche en el museo: El secreto del faraón

Another day, another sequel and this one is unfortunately another kids movie that shouldn't have seen the light of day. I'm not against sequels mind you, but in most kids series seldom is any sequel as good as the first installment. This is the case for this past weekend's release starring the ever wacky Ben Stiller and his posse of celebrities. Yes my friends we take another trip back to the museum, for another hopefully fun adventure amidst it's hallowed halls. So sit back and read a late review of another Night at the Museum, the Secret of the Tomb.

Likes: One thing I have always liked with this series is the selection of exhibits they choose to bring to life, and the integration of their personalities. This installment brings the magic early on, bringing back familiar faces like Teddy (Robin Williams), Jed (Owen Wilson), and Octavius (Steve Coogan) in all their comedic glory. Amidst a grand speech, cool CGI effects are put into effect to bring the constellations alive that shine in all their cool blue light before chaos arises. Once we get to the London museum, more exciting things come alive, in the form of another CGI fossil, a mythical snake demon made of metal, and the warrior with golden locks Lancelot (Dan Stevens). The effects are fluid, the designs beautiful, and when actually integrated into the movie, more on that later, you get the fun feeling you got in the first movie. Unfortunately most of these objects are background, aimlessly wandering around the scene while the big boys come out to play.

Outside of the special effects there are some fun pokes at human society's obsessions, especially at internet videos, pop culture, and of course ridiculous habits that celebrities have. Some of these jokes are well timed, often delivered in a manner that is quite funny. However, many of the jokes, as happens most of the time, lose their charm and the lack of any witty humor makes it pretty much just mindless rambling that kids will only enjoy. Oh sure it's cute, but Hollywood needs to learn that more isn't necessary funnier, in fact it's the opposite. However, audiences allow them to get away with it, so what is the use in complaining.

Now past funny, this Night at the Museum has another emotional side to it, helping to teach the moral lesson of moving on in the magical theatrical way. With the use of orchestrated symphony work, well angled camera shots, decent writing, and of course great acting, I'll admit I got that tingly feeling all over. No it's not gas, but those looking for a life lesson reminder will get it in this film, and a decent closing to the series… I think. As for acting, well Stiller gets the most screen time on this one. The verdict, it's alright… when he's not acting like a buffoon, and the man has some surprising agility and giant snake battle skills. Most of the time he is a bumbling idiot, but given enough time he can pull out some other feelings that we saw in Meet the Parents. As for Williams, may he rest in peace, the man gave one brilliant performance despite his character being diluted from its previous glory.

Dislikes: A lot in this category for this reviewer. It starts with the adventure, which in the third installment has been diluted to a rushed set of sequences, hastily edited together to get out in time for Christmas. A shame since the tale had promise of suspense, timing, and mystery that could have tied so many things together. Instead, the story lacked any depth, quickly revealing the secret without so much a trial, a challenge, or even an argument, it was just handed right to them and a rather lame story as well. In addition, a lot of the suspense was missing in this film, with only an irregular decay in the tablet's magic threatening our heroes. Speaking of which the cavalcade also lost their spunk, the strong willed character reduced to comedic boobs, some of which hardly utter a line, as Ben Stiller takes center stage. Such a shame indeed, but your kids will get a kick out of the simplistic journey, that is if they can sit in there seats… which some chose not to.

Instead the adventure was put aside for… comedy, or what passed for it in this movie. Yes there were a few zingers at first, but they quickly were lost to stupid rants of ridiculous arguing with his caveman doppleganger, stupid exchange of words with exhibits, and some rather awkward discussions with Rebel Wilson. Sure it happens once or twice I can handle it, but it just kept happening, even at the big, exciting climax, with the lame bad guy. Why can these films not realize the limits of tired jokes? I can't answer it either, but sadly it took away from the movie. Perhaps this comedy was the reason why the characters were also a shell of their former glory, and why they were pretty much background characters with the new exhibits. Even the normally cute dynamic between father and son was bad, Hollywood choosing to make the son another lame teenager like most movies do. Is it accurate? Probably, but in a movie with magical tablets you would think a little magic could spread to the humans as well.

I'm not going to lie, this movie failed me on many levels, and disappointed me for the grand conclusion. Still, it is a cute film that kids will handle, and still holds a little of the spark that got me into the series. Worth a trip to the theater? Not really, but if you wish to pay homage to a few of the stars I wouldn't blame you. My scores for this film are:

Adventure/Comedy/Family: 7.0 Movie Overall: 6.0

In spite of the absence of a number in the title, this is the third (and last?) film in a franchise that I have thoroughly enjoyed for providing inventive entertainment (imagine a fight sequence inside a MC Escher drawing). Each movie has been based in a museum I know well and this time we are in my home city of London at the wonderful British Museum which means that the Elgin Marbles and other artifacts come alive. At the heart of the franchise is Ben Stiller, a comic actor with deceptively understated style, and this time he gets to plays two very contrasting roles, particularly funny when his characters interact.

If there are weaknesses in this outing, they are that perhaps too many of the original characters are involved (meaning that screen time is spread rather thinly between them), there could have been more original museum characters (the main one is Dan Stevens as Sir Lancelot), and it would have been good to have more female roles (Australian Rebel Wilson as the BM security guard is effectively the only substantive one). And, of course, there is the sadness of seeing Robin Williams and Mickey Rooney in their last screen roles.

All that said, this is a worthy addition to a really fun franchise which has probably now run its course.

Night at the Museum was an original, hilarious, fantastical smash hit - but can Secret of the Tomb compensate for Battle of the Smithsonian's misstep? Night at the Museum can be everything an audience wants from a family film for the whole brood. Secret of the Tomb delivers adequately in the way a third film should, with heart, care and laughter.

Larry the night guard is still living the dream caring for the exhibits, and familiar characters, that come alive at night at the Museum of Natural History, thanks to the Tablet of Ahkmenrah. But magic is a fickle thing, and the Tablet is deteriorating, causing mayhem, havoc and danger to his pals at the museum. Motivated to save his friends, he ventures on a quest to discover more about the Tablet which brings him to the Museum of London as a last ditch effort to restore the Tablet and preserve his waxy, plastic and ancient companions.

With its third and final installment, director Shawn Levy returns to the magic that existed in the original Night at the Museum which ultimately captivated film-goers. As with many sequels, the third installment stays true to the premise of its predecessors and only slightly freshens up the premise with a couple of new characters and a swift change of location. Screenwriters David Guion and Michael Handelman smartly bring back beloved characters from the first film and don't muddy up the premise or story too much with over-complications.

Fans of the franchise will be pleasantly surprised by the heartfelt and sentimental Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb. The thoughtfulness and homages to ancient history are present and the jokes have a wide enough range to make any age giggle. Rebel Wilson might be the one drawback for some viewers, as her distinctly loud character is weird and obnoxious and detracts from the sweet film.

Film watchers be warned, you might shed many tears by the end of this film, as this film critic did. The poignancy and relevancy of the film's final scenes are nearly too much as this film touches your soul and makes you nostalgic for the wonder that is Robin Williams.

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I remember back in February 2007. I was 10 years old then. Our teachers at school said we were going to the library. It turned out they took us to the cinema. It was one of those surprises that you can't believe was real. We saw the first Night at the Museum. I remember liking the concept very much. I have always found museums fascinating, especially the ones of Natural history. So, the film always appealed to me. I saw it twice.

Then in May 2009 a sequel comes out. I remember having a fun time. When I left the cinema I was thinking: "What will happen in part 3?". Well, 5 years go by. And, a third film is ready to hit cinemas. I had to wait until February to see it though.

I finally got around to doing so today. It was kind of an empty cinema. Kind of a different feeling compared to how packed it was last week when I saw American Sniper. Anyway. I enjoyed the film. It was a good idea to make story about what would happen if the magic ran out. At the end though I felt really sentimental and a bit sad. The credits came up and everyone rushed out. I wondered if the kids today would feel the way I felt watching it. I remembered all the fun times I've had with my friends at school. It was really nice seeing all the character again in their full glory. The last film that made me feel this way was The World's End. But, this one left me thinking more.

I had completed a journey. It started out with all my friends and school in the cinema together. And, it ended with me alone. The movie at it's core was about moving on and saying goodbye to the past. But, it doesn't mean the past will disappear. You'll always be able to visit it again. You sit there watching the credits roll by and looking for a new journey to start. There will always be things to look forward to.

as Robin Williams would have said: Smile, my boy. It's sunrise

I'm glad I saw all these films.

You know, Night at the Museum is one of those films where it's not a huge movie, it's not a blockbuster, there's nothing wrong with it, it's just generally not talked about in the film fan world as I've seen it. It is however regarded as a nice family film to sit down and enjoy, so was the second instalment, and this one isn't any different.

We all know the premise; a special Egyptian tablet makes it possible for all the exhibits in the museum to come to life at night. What I'm glad about is that this third film is not a rehash of the previous two; it's predecessors had a similar theme of a main villain wanting the table,t which were different enough to enjoy but Secret of the Tomb does something completely different with it's plot and execution which is an awesome change I enjoyed a lot. Of course another thing we enjoy with these movies is the actual museum coming to life and they do some really cool stuff with that idea and it's awesome to see these historical figures interact with statues and even paintings!

They brought us some new characters too which included Lancelot who steals so many scenes and has some great lines, I love that character; also we get Ben Kingsley as King Merenkahre who surprisingly didn't actually have much screen time for a big-name actor. Rebel Wilson as a British security guard didn't quite grab me as the other characters did, she was the comedic relief in what was already a comedy so her presence wasn't really needed and could come off as annoying. In the end Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb was a fun ride just like the first two, it has some awesome surprises I wasn't expecting and all round a good family film.