“Night at the Museum” movies have been around since 2006, and the most recent movie, “Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb,” opened on Christmas day.
The plot of the movie is centered on the magic Tablet of Ahkmenrah, the Egyptian artifact that brings the Museum of Natural History’s various exhibits to life, which is starting to erode, its power withering away. That means that the various characters that our hero Larry Daley (Ben Stiller) has befriended over the years—Teddy Roosevelt (the late Robin Williams), Egyptian pharaoh Akhmenrah (Rami Malek), miniature cowboy Jedediah (Owen Wilson), Roman general Octavius (Steve Coogan) and a few others—are all in danger of turning back to their stiff, lifeless selves.
Theodore Roosevelt (Williams), Larry Daley (Stiller) and Ahkmenrah (Malek) ride a bus in search of a magic tombstone.
When the tone of the film gets too serious, you can always rely on someone or something to make a joke and lighten the mood. For example, in one scene, Sir Lancelot steals the tablet. Nothing very interesting happens for about twenty seconds, then it gets funny. Lancelot is searching for Camelot when he comes across a play called… “Camelot.” He runs on stage and talks to “King Arthur” (Hugh Jackman) and tells the actor that he has found the Holy Grail. The big misunderstanding is very comical and recaptures the audience’s attention.
The sequel is a comedy, but also a farewell that says goodbye to not just one famous actor, but two: Mickey Rooney and Robin Williams. The scene when Williams’ character says farewell to Stiller’s Larry Daley, after three films and over eight years, represents the film’s emotional core.
“Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb” is actor Robin Williams’ last film. It is both a reminder of how much the world lost when he died and a fitting send-off. In the end, there were many “goodbyes,” mostly scripted long before Williams’ death, which may draw more tears than usual for a comedy. Williams’ last words in the movie are a perfect way to say “farewell.”
At the very end of the movie, right after the actor credits, it says “In memory of Mickey Rooney. And for Robin Williams, the magic never ends.” It is definitely a movie worth watching.
-Kim Burns
