Review of Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb (2014) by Patrick L — 01 Apr 2015

"Secret of the Tomb is an enjoyable finale to the "Night at the Museum" franchise".

Movie Review: Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb.

Date Viewed: December 20 2014.

Directed By Shawn Levy (Night at the Museum, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, Date Night, The Internship, Real Steel and This is Where I Leave You).

Screenplay By David Guion and Michael Handelman, Story By David Guion, Michael Handelman and Mark Friedman.

Starring: Ben Stiller, Robin Williams, Owen Wilson, Ben Kingsley, Dan Stevens, Rebel Wilson, Ricky Gervais, Steve Coogan, Skyler Gisondo, Rami Malek, Anjali Jay, Patrick Gallagher, Mizuo Peck, Rachael Harris, Dick Van Dyke, Bill Cobbs and Mickey Rooney.

"Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb" is an enjoyable finale to the series. Sure, it is silly but kids as well as adults will enjoy it. "Secret of the Tomb" was one of the last movies Robin Williams did before his untimely passing. This movie also marks the last film appearance by the great Mickey Rooney. The second "Museum" movie I thought was overstuffed with bad puns and pop-culture references. "Secret of the Tomb" I think brings some of the magic back from the first movie. Even though it tries too hard to be "Toy Story 3", "Night at the Museum 3" is good old-fashioned fun for the holiday season.

"Secret of the Tomb" begins in 1938 where a group of archaeologists are digging into a tomb in Egypt looking for a valuable artifact.

Once they're inside the tomb they find the tablet of Ahkmenrah, the ancient artifact that brings every exhibit in the Museum of Natural History to life. In present day, Museum night guard Larry Daley (Ben Stiller) has to save the day again because the tablet of Ahkmenrah is running out of magic which causes Teddy Roosevelt (the late Robin Williams), Attila the Hun (Patrick Gallagher) and Dexter, the Capuchin monkey to act crazy and cause chaos at the Museum.

The Pharaoh Ahkmenrah (Rami Malek) warns Larry if the tablet runs out of magic, he'll never see his friends again. At the same time, Larry's son, Nick (Skyler Gisondo) wants to become a famous DJ instead of going to college. Really? A DJ? I'm sure at the end you'll probably change your mind and go to college instead. Larry researches everything about the tablet and he learns that Cecil Fredericks (Dick Van Dyke) was present at the discovery of the tablet in Egypt when he was a boy. Where is Cecil now? At a retirement home of course, with his old pals Gus (the late Mickey Rooney) and Reginald (Bill Cobbs). In order to restore the tablet, Cecil tells Larry that he must go to the British Museum of Natural History in London and find Ahkmenrah's parents (played by Ben Kingsley and Anjali Jay).

Once in London, Larry and his friends, including Teddy, Attila, Sacagawea, Dexter, Jedediah (Owen Wilson) and Octavius (Steve Coogan) run into some trouble. They encounter a British security guard named Tilly (Rebel Wilson), a Triceratops skeleton and Sir Lancelot (Dan Stevens, from "Downton Abbey"). Even though he saves Larry and his friends from being eaten by the Triceratops, Lancelot wants to take the tablet for himself because he thinks the ancient artifact is the Holy Grail.

Director Shawn Levy (who made the first two) may have a poor track record but he has brought magic back into this franchise. The second movie, "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian" might've had a charming performance from Amy Adams as Ameila Earhart but it had annoying cameos from The Jonas Brothers. Dan Stevens is actually pretty funny as Sir Lancelot while Rebel Wilson has not much to do as a bumbling security guard who falls in love with a caveman named Laa (who's played by Ben Stiller). We even get jokes about the Pompeii disaster in this movie as Jed and Octavius run for their lives from a lava flow.

"Secret of the Tomb" may not be valuable treasure but it is a satisfying end to the "Night at the Museum" franchise.