'Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb'

In cinemas December 19th!

The third Night at the Museum instalment is on par with the first film, which is fantastic after Night at the Museum 2 (which was saved mostly by Amy Adams as Amelia Earhart). With Ben Stiller returning to the role of Larry Daley, the museum night guard, we follow a storyline that is simple yet effectively done. With the magic fading the stakes are high for Larry to find the secret that will keep our favourite museum exhibits coming to life every night, and a trip to London is on the cards. One of the best scenes is the simple one where they all ride on the back seats of a London bus, and keep your eyes on Sir Lancelot’s (Dan Stevens) nose because that will certainly get you laughing! In fact Stevens was brilliant, giving a very strong performance. It is funny and carries the same humour that made the first film popular and that is guaranteed wherever Jedediah and Octavius (played by Owen Wilson and Steve Coogan) appear on screen together. They are the perfect double act, albeit a tiny one! It was also good to see the return of Ricky Gervais.

Alongside the main story runs an emotional sub plot between Larry and his son Nick (Skyler Gisondo). Unfortunately it is unconvincing and adds almost nothing to the film as there is very little on screen chemistry between the two and ultimately we don’t much care if Nick wants to go off and DJ instead of going to college. Thank goodness it is just a sub plot. Likewise the addition of Rebel Wilson is comical but she is just playing the same character that we have seen before in multiple other films, it is only the connection between her as the security guard and Laaa (Stiller) that makes her appearance in the film worth it.

Rami Malek however really stood out as Ahkmenrah and it was nice to see a development of his character from the first film. Malek has mastered the art of extremely subtle comedy, often with just one or two words or a simple facial expression. The return of Robin Williams as Teddy Roosevelt was bittersweet, as an inspirational character that has guided us through all of the Night at the Museum films some of his more poignant lines tugged at the heartstrings in light of his recent passing, but it was great to see him back on screen entertaining as he always has done. The tribute to him included in the end credits was a thoughtful touch.

As a whole it was a very enjoyable watch and certainly a worthy sequel to the franchise, although hopefully this will be the last one as it would be nice to end it well. Personally I really enjoyed it although I do not think that the style of humour will be to everyone’s tastes…

Review by Lydia Kay
See this review on www.thefancarpet.com