Film Review | Night At The Museum: Secret Of The Tomb
1 min read 26 Dec 2014, 01:59 PM ISTAn idea stretched far beyond its potential
Premium
In the third and thankfully final instalment of the Night At The Museum series, Ben Stiller reprises his role as Larry Daley, the night guard at the Museum of Natural History.
It is after sunset that the seemingly lifeless displays and lifelike reproductions of historical figures magically come alive.
In the third film, the magical tablet that is the source of life for these exhibits is dying and if it is not revitalized, Larry’s after-hours friends will return to their inert, waxy states forever. In order to save his friends, Larry and some of the figures—Attila the Hun (Patrick Gallagher), Octavius (Steve Coogan), Franklin D. Roosevelt (Robin Williams), Laa, Larry’s Neanderthal doppelganger, and Jedediah (Owen Wilson), among others—travel to the British Museum in London to solve the secret of the life-giving magical tablet.
This opens up a whole new world of characters including Ben Kingsley as an Egyptian pharaoh and Sir Lancelot, played by Dan Stevens (whom fans of Downton Abbey will recognize as Matthew Crawley).
Director Shawn Levy completes the trilogy after helming both previous parts, Night At The Museum (2006) and Night At The Museum: Battle Of The Smithsonian (2009). Secret Of The Tomb has shots of humour between expansive, nonsensical scenes, which might not even amuse the children the film is aimed at. The most poignant moment is the farewell to Roosevelt, played one final time by Robin Williams. Otherwise, Night At The Museum: Secret Of The Tomb is an instance of an idea stretched far beyond its potential.
Night At The Museum: Secret Of The Tomb released in theatres on Friday.
