Night at the Museum – Holding down a job is hard for Larry. Wanting to impress his son he is determined to make his new job as a Security Guard at The American Museum of Natural History work. What he doesn’t realise is that every night all the exhibits come to life, and his actual job involves ensuring that they remain inside the building and don’t cause irreparable damage to him (or the museum). Initially wanting to leave after his first night, he begins to find his place there but with a sinister plot unfolding, can he protect his new friends?
Night at the Museum (2006) – Director: Shawn Levy
By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6018302
Rating:PG
Running Length: 108 mins
Starring: Ben Stiller, Robin Williams, Dick Van Dyke
Genre: Action/Adventure, Fantasy
REVIEW: ‘NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM’
Based upon the book of the same name by Milan Trenc, ‘Night at the Museum’ follows Larry, a divorced father whose ex-wife sees his inability to hold down a job as setting a bad example for their son, Nicky. Determined to improve himself, he takes a job as a security guard but the role is far more involved than he bargained for! The concept of inanimate objects coming to life is by no means new but ‘Night at the Museum’ is fun and refreshing, and Ben Stiller brings an enjoyable element of bemusem*nt to central character, Larry, which helps to make him easy for the other additional characters to bounce off.
Ben Stiller’s protagonist, Larry, is the nice guy that everyone likes. His lack of motivation in his jobs is mentioned regularly but barely seems to be an actual part of his character so this foray into being a security guard seems like a reasonable career change and his desire to leave after the first night would be understandable for even the most committed workaholic! Therefore the ‘deadbeat dad’ persona that movie is going for doesn’t really fly but being such a likeable character is enough to make his otherwise blandness watchable. The other characters around him, particularly the exhibits that come to life, add the extra layers needed to skim over the predictable nature of the story and allow the fun and excitement to shine through.
‘Night at the Museum’ is most definitely a child-focused family movie; its pacing is wonderful – plenty of new action to enjoy without moving so fast that its hard to keep up with. Adults may know where the plot’s going but for big ticks for excitement, action and great character, this is a movie that checks off all the boxes.
CONTENT: IS ‘NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM’ SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN?
A character walks through a museum hallway and is seemingly alone. When they pass a tribal-themes exhibit, one of the ‘people’ wearing a large mask (who it is assumed was a dummy), sneaks up behind the character, scaring them and making them jump. It then becomes apparent that this was just a prank.
When Larry works his first night shift, he walks past an exhibit and when he turns back, it has disappeared. There is then around a minute of suspenseful music as he moves slowly, trying to find out what has happened. He comes across the life-sized skeleton of the museum’s T-Rex which has come to life and begins to aggressively chase him. This scene which lasts for approximately 5 minutes could be quite scary for some kids.
Two groups of soldiers on opposing sides fight whenever they are brought to life. As these are faceless mannequins, when one is ‘shot’, a hole appears on their uniform and stuffing spills out of the ‘wound’. This soldier falls to the floor and, seemingly dead.
One of the exhibits is of Attila the Hun and a few of his men. When researching him, Larry reads that Attila would kill people by having them torn limb from limb and helooks in a book which has a picture of a man, stretched out with men pulling at each of his limbs. A couple of times later in the movie, Larry is grabbed and held in the same position by Attila’s men, however he is never afraid or distressed by this and quickly gets out of these situations.
An older character is perpetually angry, saying things such as ‘I’ll beat him with my fist!’, ‘I ought to punch you in th nose’ and ‘I’m gonna shoot you in your dang eye!’.
As the museum comes to life at night, it is explained that ‘If the sun rises and anybody is on the outside, we turn to dust’. This happens with one of the more established characters which is a little sad but does not become overly emotional.
A Capuchin monkey becomes the bane of Larry’s life and at one point, they get into a comedic fight with each slapping each other around the face. While no harm is done to either, we mention this in case it could be imitable.
An Egyptian mummy, Pharoah Akhmenrah is wrapped in bandages and is kept locked inside a case; every night he angrily struggles against his bonds, his screams of anger and frustration are muffled due to the bandages covering his face. At one point, Larry comes face-to-face with the mummy that approaches Larry in a seemingly aggressive way, however after around 30 seconds, it is clear that the mummy is actually no threat to Larry.
Two characters who ride in a small remote-controlled car crash behind a pile of snow, an explosion is heard and a fire-ball shoots up into the air. These are established characters and their loss is felt by other characters although all may not be as it seems.
CAN I SEE A CLIP?
VERDICT: IS ‘NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM’ OK FOR KIDS?
‘Night at the Museum’ is most certainly a crowd pleaser and with the action being fun enough to appeal to every member of the audience, it is a great family film. Due to some scenes containing scary moments, we recommend ‘Night at the Museum’ for kids aged 6 and over.
- Violence: 2/5 (Larry is hit with tiny arrows then falls onto a small train track which has a train heading his way. He seems scared but it merely bumps into his face causing a small amount of pain which isn’t lingered upon. A waxwork character is chopped in half but does not suffer any pain)
- Emotional Distress: 1/5 (the scene where the museum character turns to dust outside is a little sad
- Fear Factor: 2/5 (a couple of suspenseful scenes which last for a minute or two before there is a change in the action)
- Sexual Content: 1/5 (an old man flirts with a young woman who is young enough to be his granddaughter. Nothing explicit is said and the exchange only lasts a couple of minutes)
- Bad Language: 1/5 (some mild cursing and blasphemy)
- Dialogue: 2/5
- Other Notes: Deals with themes of family, loyalty, courage, divorced parents, friendship, overcoming prejudice, responsibility, working through difficulty, not giving up and helping those who are weaker than you.
Words by Laura Record
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