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109 of 125 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This Dude Had a Fun Time, December 30, 2006
I thought this movie would mostly be for kids, but I think I laughed as much if not more than the younger folks around me. The CGI is good, the plot is neat, and Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, and Robin Williams deliver the goods. It was also a treat to see Dick Van Dyke and Mickey Rooney in action again. Not to mention that Carla Gugino is a feast for the eyes. It's nice to watch a good film for the whole family once every so often. It makes you feel like a kid again, without a care in the world.
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90 of 104 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Take your family to the Museum, December 22, 2006
This solid family movie from director Shawn Levy (the new PINK PANTHER, CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN 2) comes from a solid book like Jumanji, and Zathura, the 1993 kid's mystery-comedy of the same name.Like the original story, Larry (or was it Hector originally) becomes a night guard at New York's Museum of Natural History,in order to "grow up" in the eyes of his ex-wife and his son. He expects to have an easy time. But on his first night, he dozes off, then wakes up to a missing dinosaur skeleton.Soon his learns that history really comes alive at this museum and he's got his hands full keeping it in line.
Ben Stiller, as Larry, panics his way from exhibit to exhibit,as only he knows how. Briefly intiated by the original nightwatchmen, played by comedy, TV and film legends Dick Van Dyke,Bill Cobbs and Mickey Rooney.
The retiring watchmen are worth the price of admission (watch the closing credits as they reveal the ultimate fate of the three characters and Mr. Van Dyke shows that he can still chimney-sweep with the best of them.
Owen Wilson yet again teams-up with Stiller for a small part literally, he's a miniature from an historical diorama (see Starsky & Hutch, The Royal Tenenbaums, Meet the parents, Permanent Midnight, Zoolander for more super Stiller/Wilson team-ups). Actually the role is more than a cameo and is worthy of the story. The two play off each other superbly, like a modern-day Bing & Hope, only funny (I Kid, I Kid).
Another standout casting is Robin Williams lending Larry a hand as an animated-wax Teddy Roosevelt. Williams is able to savory his moments of insanity as a relatively static historical mentor while enfusing others with moving realism and soulfulness (seriously).
Loads of great visuals, especially at the IMAX engagements, like the animated dog-like T-Rex, Mammoths, stampedes and more. Definitely in the spirit of Jumanji, only with much more heart.
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26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
I Think that T-Rex Skeleton Wants to Play Fetch? --- and other hilarious reasons to watch this film..., April 20, 2007
A movie where history literally comes alive? No way! But, somehow, this kooky idea works in an endearing and surrealistic way.
Ben Stiller stars as Larry Daley, an underachiever with a penchant for bouncing from job to job as he is constantly evicted from one apartment after another. Having had a divorce, Larry shares custody of his son with his ex-wife and her new husband. After finally being fed up with feeling inadequate in the eyes of his son, Larry takes a job as a night watchman at the Museum of Natural History in hopes that the semblance of stability will help earn back his ex-wife's and his son's respect. However, things are not always how they appear, as Larry soon discovers that at night, the museum comes to life...
The film has a bit of a slow start as the plot lays the ground work for Larry's desperate acceptance of the night watchman's position. I was left feeling anxious for the hilarity to ensue when the museum finally awakens from it's slumber. Fortunately, once the storyline finally gets to that point, the wacky hijinks commence, one right after the other, causing the film to become far more satisfying. If you overlook the fact that this is a Ben Stiller vehicle (as in, a comedic role that has a fairly cookie-cutter resemblence to most of Ben Stiller's previous roles) the movie turns out to be a wild ride of incredible special effects, and hilarious moments in the interaction between Larry and the newly life-like museum displays.
Robin Williams does an amazing job as a wax figure of Teddy Roosevelt, who becomes a sort of guide and mentor to Stiller's character of Larry as Larry struggles to come to terms with the unbelievable things he is witnessing. Owen Wilson also has a small supporting role as a teeny tiny cowboy from one of the displays in the diorama room, who is hell-bent on busting out of his display and doing battle against the Roman General, Octavius (equally tiny) who resides in the display next to his. Wilson's character is also fairly typical of his usual roles, but that doesn't make it any less funny. Actually (if you're looking for a little trivia) Wilson and Stiller only came face-to-face during filming once, for only a few minutes. All of Wilson's scenes were filmed in one day (in front of a green screen so that his character can be shrunk down to size and re-inserted into the film). The production crew placed a toothpick on the various sets so that Stiller had a focal point for where he was supposed to look when delivering his dialogue during the scenes that would eventually include Wilson's shrunken cowboy.
This whole movie is one giant leap into the magical realm of suspended reality that Hollywood is so good at creating. Can museums really come to life? No --- but man, it be cool if they did. Keep your eye out for my favorite (and in my opinion, the funniest) scene from the film in which Larry finally confronts Attila the Hun, who makes a habit of chasing him down and attempting to dismember him each night. Larry squares off against Attila and his barbaric horde, and proves he's in control by bringing Attila to tears. You have to see it to truly appreciate the humor. I also enjoyed the keys stealing monkey, Dexter, and his crazy penchant for causing Larry a lot of trouble. As far as special features go, this particular disc only has 2 audio commentaries available. If you're wanting more than that in the special features department, you're probably better off purchasing the 2-disc special edition.
Bottom line -- it gets off to a slow start, but eventually picks up and dazzles the audience with it's style, humor, and the general laugh-worthy age old question of "Can't we all just get along"?
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