Night at the Museum 2 (Blu-ray)

Night at the Museum 2 ( Blu-ray )

For the most part I enjoy Ben Stiller’s work, he has been a very funny part of most of my life, with films like Zoolander,The Cable Guy (which he directed), and There’s Something about Mary.  That’s why I can’t really fault him for making movies like Madagascar, and Night at The Museum.  But to my surprise I actually found myself enjoying the first Night at the Museum movie so when a sequel was announced I gave thought I would give it a shot.

When the Museum of Natural History in New York closes for renovation, most of the exhibits are crated up and shipped off to the National Archives at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C.,  little does Larry Daley (Ben Stiller) know he will be sucked back into the craziness as the tablet that causes everything to come to life is brought along as well, causing the evil Egyptian ruler, Kahmunrah (played by Hank Azaria doing his best Boris Karloff imitation) to awaken wanting to use the tablet to raise his undead army.

On the Disc we get a rather sub-par 2.40:1 1080p HD transfer, not saying that it is a complete dissapointment the colors are vivid and the blacks levels are deep, but there is a lot of grain in the picture, more than usual for a film this new, and it makes for a slightly hazy and flat-looking picture a lot of the times.  Thankfully the 5.1 DTS-Master Audio track fares better than the video transfer, once the Smithsonian comes to life the soundfield truly opens up with a decent balance among all of the audio elements.  The producers have done a commendable job assembling a thorough collection of extras designed to appeal to a wide age range among viewers.  We get 2 audio commentary tracks; a bunch of behind the scenes featurettes and a “Scavenger Hunt” mode, this interactive feature will pop up at various times during the film as you collect various items that appear on screen.

While not exactly high art, Battle of the Smithsonian is exactly what it tries to be a fully enjoyable family comedy, with moments everyone will laugh at.