Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb

I'm actually surprised that I wound up liking Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb.  The original movie was sort of cute, but it left me on the fence on whether I thought it was worth seeing.  Its 2009 sequel, Battle of the Smithsonian, was overly loud and chaotic, and rubbed me completely the wrong way.  This newest one...I don't know, it's a little bit sweeter than the other two, and doesn't rely so much on noise and special effects for its laughs.  It's more fun, and also does a nice job of wrapping up the story.

We rejoin Larry Daley (Ben Stiller), the museum night guard, and his museum exhibit friends who come to life every night with the aid of a magical golden Egyptian tablet.  His friends include Teddy Roosevelt (Robin Williams, in his final on screen performance), miniature figurines Jedediah and Octavius (Owen Wilson and Steve Coogan), the young Pharaoh Ahkmenrah (Rami Malek), Attila the Hun (Patrick Gallagher), Native American guide Sacajawea (Mizuo Peck), and a cute little Capuchin monkey named Dexter (Crystal).  Larry also has a new friend this time around - a caveman named Laaa, who holds a striking resemblance to the night guard, probably because he's also played by Stiller in a dual role.

We learn early on that something is wrong with the magical tablet.  It is slowly corroding, and not only does this cause it to lose its power to bring the museum figures to life, but it also causes them to act completely out of character, and often in hostility.  In the film's opening scene, we see how an expedition discovered the tablet in Egypt back in 1938, and that one of the locals working on the team warned of danger if the tablet was removed from its tomb.  It seems that the prophecy has now come true, and Larry and his friends must find a way to restore the tablet and save the magic.  Unfortunately, the only one who knows the secret behind the tablet and its powers is Ahkmenrah's father (Ben Kingsley), and he's on display in a museum in London.   Larry and his friends must travel to that museum to get the information they need.  During the journey, they are joined up by Sir Lancelot (Dan Stevens), who is on a quest of his own for the Holy Grail.

The premise is incredibly thin, even for a movie that barely runs 100 minutes.  Pretty much, Larry and his friends go to the museum in London, have a couple adventures surrounding some of the exhibits that come to life because they have the tablet with them, and then go on a chase after the tablet gets stolen.  What lifts Secret of the Tomb up is that there is a genuine energy behind the picture.  The actors look like they're having a great time, and there are a few new funny additions here.  Chief amongst them is Rebel Wilson, who is very funny as a lonely security guard at the London museum.  The screenplay is smart enough to slow down once in a while, and let its gifted comedic cast play off of each other.  This happens more here than in the previous entries, which is probably why despite its thin plot and sometimes juvenile humor (we get not one, but two jokes about the monkey peeing on somebody), I find this to be the best film in the series.

The movie also gets to pull off some bittersweet and somewhat poignant moments during its final scenes, some of which are unintentional.  I say unintentional, as the passing of Robin Williams lends his final scene, when he says goodbye to Larry, a kind of sadness that obviously was not supposed to be there. (The movie is dedicated to his memory, as well as to Mickey Rooney, who has a short cameo here as his character from the first film.) This film may not exactly have been the best way for Williams to cap off his career, but at least he gets to leave with a dignified and somewhat touching moment.  That being said, the writers have done a good job of wrapping up the story, and I hope the studio doesn't get greedy, and try to spin this franchise off into other projects.  It ends on a good note, and it's where it should stay.

While Secret of the Tomb is not a great movie, it did charm me enough that I am recommending it.  There's going to be a lot of competition for kids movies over the holidays, so hopefully it doesn't fall through the cracks.  It's sweet, it has an effective funny moment or two, kids are bound to like it, and I think accompanying parents may enjoy it a little more than they initially expect. 

See the movie times in your area or buy the DVD at Amazon.com!

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