Starring:
Ben Stiller, Carla Gugino, Dick Van Dyke, Mickey Rooney, Kim Raver, Mickey Rooney, Steve Coogan, Owen Wilson, Jake Cherry, Ricky Gervais and Robin Williams

Director:
Shawn Levy

Running Time:
109 mins

Out to buy on DVD/Blu-Ray 02/04/07

• Excellent visual effects
• Good leading man performance from Ben Stiller
• Great supporting cast

• The story and character development is very slight

"Lawrence, why are you slapping a monkey?"

Larry (Stiller) needs to get himself a steady job so that he can keep seeing his son Nick (Cherry). After changing career numerous times and coming up with many a get rich quick ideas, he has never really found anything that he is good at. Starting a night shift security job at the Museum of Natural History in New York, Larry thinks this is just a steady pay packet to just watch exhibits that no one really wants to visit anymore but he would be very wrong because strange things happen when the museum closes for the night.

Hollywood has a great way of taking a high concept idea and using visual effects to bring it to life but it is usually the script that takes a back seat but can 'Night at the Museum' be different?

Based on the novel by Milan Trenc, the idea of the exhibits within a museum coming to life when it closes for the night isn't the most original premise for a story but it is gives the chance for Hollywood and their visual effects team to showcase what they can do. The next thing you have to do is gather together an all-star cast and bingo, you have a hit family movie one you hands, right? Well the good news is that 'Night at the Museum' succeeds but it isn't a classic.

The problem with the movie is that the story and the character development are very slight. Larry is your typical head in the clouds, divorcee dad who is continuingly disappointing his son. He needs to get a stable job and stop looking for the get rich quick option or the big idea that will set him up for life. After his ex-wife informs him that he is continually disappointing his son and making his life unstable, he decides it is time to get a real job. This leads him a security position at the Museum of Natural History in New York. That is basically the backstory and the character development of Larry and the main set up of the movie. While audiences may not have expected much in the form of story or character development in the past, the new millennium cinemagoer now expects a little bit more for their money.

While the plot and backstory maybe slight the execution of the main element of the story, the exhibits coming to life, is very good. There is a lot of fun to be had from seeing a T-Rex chasing a bone through the museum, miniature Roman soldiers and Cowboys fighting, a Mummy coming to life and animals running amuck. All this is made even better by the performance of Ben Stiller in the lead role of Larry. As ever, he is easy to watch and get behind, as he struggles to control everything inside the museum and stop them getting out. He is ably supported by Robin Williams as President Teddy Roosevelt, Steve Coogan as Roman centurion Octavius, Owen Wilson as the leader of the Cowboys, Ricky Gervais as museum director Mr. McPhee and Carla Gugino as museum guide Rebecca. When you add to this scene stealing performances from screen legends Dick Van Dyke and Mickey Rooney, you have a cast that brings the movie to life as well as the exhibits.

With visual effects that add to the fun and a cast that makes the movie better than it should have been, 'Night at the Museum' is a movie that all the family can enjoy. It might not be destined to become a firm family favourite, but this is a very enjoyable movie all the same.