Adult fans of the original Night at the Museum may be a little disappointed with its loud, action packed sequel, Night at the Museum: Battle for the Smithsonian; I was. Because the thrill from the first film of seeing museum pieces come to life was gone and because Ben Stiller’s character, “Larry,” was no longer at his wits end trying to contain those same museum pieces, some of the magic is missing from the 2^nd film. Battle for the Smithsonian is bigger, noisier and has all of the shortcomings most sequels have. However, it does have one saving grace, one key element that makes this DVD worth checking out: Amy Adams.

Adams co-stars as Amelia Earhart, or rather a mannequin of Earhart that comes to life when the magic tablet of Ahkmenrah (from the first movie) is shipped off to Washington to be placed in storage at the Smithsonian. Earhart teams up with Larry (now a wealthy entrepreneur) to prevent an evil Egyptian pharaoh, Kahmunrah (Hank Azaria) from opening a portal to the underworld and unleashing an army of the undead to take over earth. Adams, one of the most charming and likable actresses working these days, is pure delight at the legendary female aviator. She speaks in a rat-tat-tat-tat cadence that hearkens back to the era from which Earhart was popular. Adams gives her character a no nonsense attitude and gung ho spirit that pops off the screen and charms your socks off. Moreover, the way she carries herself and commits to the role makes watching Adams such a pleasure that whenever she’s on screen you overlook the shortcomings of this movie, which was wildly successful in its theatrical run. Continue reading →