Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb

This review may contain spoilers!

I will shamefully admit that this end of a trilogy actually managed to draw a bit of crying from yours truly. I would give Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb a 7.5/10.

This film rounded off it's story in a really great way, the pacing of the film moved well and the humour was great. Not to mention the numerous references back to the original film and the heartwarming goodbyes to the beloved characters of this film. The special effects were great to watch and I particularly remember the constellations scene. I also really enjoyed the cinematography and editing for the film, it looked really good visually. The music as always was done really well, I think Silvestri outdid himself on this score.

Ben Stiller, who played Larry Daley and Laaa, did a fantastic job in his return to leading role of Larry; however his performance as Laaa felt incredibly unnecessary to the story as a whole. Owen Wilson and Steve Coogan, who played Jebediah and Octavius respectively, really outdid themselves as a comedy duo; their combined performance had one of the strongest impacts on the film as a whole. Ricky Gervais, who played Dr McPhee, was just brilliant; his deadpan wit really turned some basic moments of dialogue into very memorable scenes. Skyler Gisondo, who played Nick Daley, really held a strong position as one of the comedic high points of the script; more than that his relationships with other characters was very strong. Ben Kingsley, who played Merenkahre, had a delightfully comedic cameo appearance; a regal figure with some great sass. Dick van Dyke, Mickey Rooney and Bill Cobbs, who played Cecil, Gus and Reginald respectively, were great to see again; this film was supremely good at tying to the first film in this way. Alice Eve and Hugh Jackman, who played themselves, had a great cameo; filled with some comedic high points as well as some brilliant references.

Yet in a film with some amazing displays of comedy it was Dan Stevens, who played Sir Lancelot, that really stole the show. He immediately made his mark by working his way right into the middle of the comedic banter that this film's stars generate. He also proved to be one of the most badass characters of the film, as both an antagonist and protagonist.

I suppose if I were to critique the film, I would point out the really awful sub plots that absolutely added nothing to the story. I also feel like the big twist of the film involving Lancelot was not all that impressive, especially considering we'd already had some much more important feeling moments of tension within the film.

Robin Williams, who played Teddy Roosevelt and Garuda, was completely uderused in this film; his ability to do impressions does not automatically make him interesting as a character sadly. Rebel Wilson, who played Tilly, is the sort of actress who plays the one character every film and it has become annoying to watch; not to mention her romance story was completely awful. Rami Malek, who played Ahkmenrah, was quite underused for someone who was apparently quite important to the plot; nor was his acting very stand out. Patrick Gallagher, who played Attila the Hun, is a bit offensive in how he is shown in the film I feel; nor does him standing around yelling gibberish in scenes add much to the film. Mizuo Peck, who played Sacajawea, was essentially benched this film; which was rather disappointing as she became much less of a major character from the first film.