Review of Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb (2014) by Liam C — 27 Apr 2015

For a film series that has been going on for a long time and especially this second sequel being released quite a long time after previous film, it really is nice to see how much effort and care was put into this film. Seriously though, this film actually had a story and felt like it had a reason to exist, not only it being a second sequel so you'd just expect any old rubbish to be thrown together but because it ties in with the other films so well and really wraps everything up nicely. They even explain the power of the tablet quite well and give backstory on it to the point where I was impressed that they wrote it in a way that made sense and was interesting to watch. It's also nice to see pretty much all the original cast returning one last time for this final adventure as well as some old and new faces; although, you'd expect them to get the original actor who played Nick to return seeing as how he has a subplot in this film but that didn't happen and Skyler Gisondo kept reminding me of Jay Baruchel. And also, no Carla Gugino as well, which is sad, I know she wasn't in the second one, but still, seeing as how everything is coming together to wrap it up you'd think she would come back, but they explain where she is.

It did seem kind of odd to bring back the original trio from the first film, not saying anymore as to not spoil it, for just a few moments then to not be used again, it makes sense for the story and it is nice to include them once more to, again, wrap it all up but it would have been nice. And Rebel Wilson was a funny addition and does a good job, like usual. This film has some cameos as well and they're a pretty great addition, actually. Ben Kingsley is usually worth a watch whatever he's in but one of the first lines out of his mouth was a very 'Love Guru'-eqse joke and it wasn't painful it was just one of those, roll-your-eye-and-do-a-laugh moments. It was also funny that he said he would pass on the secret of the tablet at the right time, as if dying wasn't already a good enough time? There's a cameo in this film that I dare not spoil but it happened when Lancelot walked into a theatre, with a bus going past with 'Cuban Fury' on it so you can guess when that was filmed, I thought I recognised who it might be from how they were singing and I was right but, wow, was that scene totally hilarious, it's totally random but where it ends up going is even better and sets up a joke with a nose at the end. While I guess it could be considered pointless by some, I thought it was ingenious and a fantastic addition. The person I was watching this with thought that they might do something they're famous for and a few seconds later it happened and that was just a great moment, I loved it. You could tell who Laaa was by his nose before it's revealed but I thought he was pretty good and actually worked into the plot nicely as well.

The visual effects are as good as ever and there is also a very visually creative, 'a-ha' inspired and interesting sequence that took place inside of a painting that was a good addition. Although, the camera did seem to move at some points like when Nick and his dad were looking at the Thames and when those two characters were in the grate, it seemed to shake like it would in a film that was supposed to show realism, it was kind of odd. Speaking of the grate, it did seem like a bit of an odd plotpoint, it just seemed like some filler that didn't really lead to anything, it doesn't drag or annoy it's just something I picked up on, but it did lead to some funny moments. The film, overall, is pretty funny and has its references in there for adults as well, I thought the YouTube comment was pretty funny and a psycho reference as well. It seemed like they left time for the introduction of the nose joke at the end for us to laugh at it which is a funny scene and ends well but there are, admittedly, some jokes that do go on a bit, but you have to remember the intended demographic for this film. And if you really wanted to you could find some problems, like, the statues in the English museum stammer around on their first night but Lancelot and the dinosaur are perfectly fine, and that a Triceratops was chasing humans in the first place or the fact that those few characters that did decide to go to England were making the decision for everyone back home to go back to just being statues(they say that they are supposed to return to NY because that is their home but so is the tablet and Ahkmenrah), or how no statue moved beforehand whilst they were transporting the tablet but when it's out in the open it brings to life everything, or the fact that the statue outside of the regular museum never moved, but really, this really isn't the film for those kind of complaints, and again, you have to remember the intended demographic.

The only real complaint I have with this film is that Sacajawea didn't really do anything. We see her visibly track down where someone they are chasing is going but that's it. Whilst it is explained that Dexter was the only one who could fit down that grate, surely she could have used as well? That is why they all went there, after all, to help. And you would have thought that they would have cancelled that show that night when they discovered that everything was going wrong.

While personally I would have had the film end about 10 minutes before it did, to give it that bittersweet feeling, the ending that they decided to do made sense, even if it somewhat nullifies the emotional scenes that take place prior. Or if they wanted to go with something more optimistic, they could have just had the tablet reactive and then cut it to give it some mystique. The way it ends is ultimately nice and it does conclude in a good way but when I saw the tablet reactive it looked like it left the door open to more sequels, whereas the ending before would have been a solidified end, but I still think it concluded in a good way, with the camera focusing on Larry looking at the museum. Considering they were referencing films I expected Roosevelt to say something about seizing the day but nevertheless, his last line was indeed touching as was that whole segment, seeing him say his goodbye adds even more emotion to a scene already full of it. 'Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb' is one of the best of its kind, it's a second sequel that had a real love and effort put into it; all these people came together to give its audience one last big adventure before saying goodbye as opposed to just fizzling out like many. It's the highest rated film out of the three and it really did put me in a good mood and it was made for the right reasons and it's a great closer to a beloved series. I really, really, really enjoyed this film. 'Smile, my boy. It's sunrise.'.