Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009) Review: Ranking Robin Williams’ Cameo
Is Battle of the Smithsonian (2009) a good movie? It is a slight improvement over the original. Battle of the Smithsonian is a 2009 family sequel that takes bigger swings with its massive scale. While Robin Williams only has a brief cameo, it is a fun ride that sits in the middle of our ultimate movie ranking and review.
The Premise: What is Battle of the Smithsonian About?
Larry Daley (Ben Stiller) has left his night guard job for a successful corporate career, but is pulled back into the chaos when his old museum friends are shipped off into storage at the Smithsonian. When the magical Tablet of Ahkmenrah is activated, it brings the world's largest museum to life, including the villainous Pharaoh Kahmunrah. Larry must team up with familiar faces and new historical figures like Amelia Earhart (Amy Adams) to save the tablet before dawn.
What Works: Scaling Up the Magic
The film successfully scales up the premise by moving to the Smithsonian, giving the movie endless access to history, pop culture, and artifacts. It has the exact same spirit as the original, but lands a few genuinely funny jokes and takes bigger narrative swings by raising the stakes.
What Doesn't Work: The Amelia Earhart Romance
For some reason, the movie decides the main emotional focus should be a bizarre, forced love story between Ben Stiller and Amelia Earhart. Amy Adams plays her like a hyperactive 1920s newsie, and the romantic angle is actively distracting and unnecessary. Also, Robin Williams is barely in this film, showing up briefly at the beginning, middle, and end, making it hard to even classify as a true Robin Williams movie.
The Robin Williams Ranking & Performance Score
Robin Williams Performance Score:RETIRED Out of respect for Robin's battle with undiagnosed Lewy Body Dementia, we have officially retired our performance score rating.
Good Mourning Robin Ranking: In our ranking, because it takes bigger swings and is generally funnier, we place it slightly above the original Night at the Museum.
FAQ: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009) Movie
Is Robin Williams in Battle of the Smithsonian? Yes, but only in a brief cameo capacity. He reprises his role as Teddy Roosevelt at the beginning and end, and briefly plays a different bust of Roosevelt in the middle.
Is Battle of the Smithsonian better than the first one? Our review notes that it is a slight improvement, taking bigger swings with its massive scale and landing better jokes, despite a forced romance subplot.
Who plays Amelia Earhart? Amy Adams plays the famous aviator, serving as the primary sidekick and bizarre love interest for Ben Stiller's character.
