Larry Daly (Ben Stiller) returns to the museum for more comical action-adventure Credit: 20th Century Fox

Cast: Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Amy Adams, Ricky Gervais
Director: Shawn Levy
Screenwriters: Robert Ben Garant, Thomas Lennon
Rating: PG

Reprising his role as Larry Daly, Ben Stiller returns with an impressive A-list cast for the second instalment in his family-friendly franchise. Having become a successful inventor, Larry finds himself missing his life-like friends back at the Museum of Natural History. When he discovers that the exhibits are being sent into storage in the Smithsonian, along with the magical tablet that brings these exhibits to life, Larry embarks on a race against time to stop the secret coming out and causing chaos on Washington DC.
What he doesn’t realise is that the tablet has already awoken evil Egyptian pharaoh Kamunrah (Hank Azaria) and he has very different plans for its use: to unleash an army on the city and ultimately take over the world.
The cast list of cameos and returning characters in this sequel is endless, from the Jonas Brothers to Eugene Levy, Jonah Hill, Steve Coogan, Rick Gervais and Robin Williams, but it’s a shame that none of them are used to their full comedic potential; the jokes are obvious and slapstick. Perhaps this is more for the children’s benefit, but some subtle adult humour wouldn’t go amiss for the parents that have to sit through watching it.
Stiller’s onscreen romance with the cutesy Amy Adams, who plays a feisty Amelia Earhart, Larry’s sidekick in his project to save the world, is sadly very empty and unbelievable. Their token kiss looks strained and awkward. Earhart, however, is quick-witted and wry, and Amy delivers this well. She, along with Azaria’s lisp-a-lot Kamunrah, saves the film from being completely dry of interesting dialogue.
The constant battering of blunt and easy-laugh pop culture references is tiring but something that, the younger you are, the more likely you are to appreciate. The film certainly has its fair share of action, too; the frantic pace means there’s no time for the mind to wander. It’s an entertaining family movie but there were many better before it.

Night at the Museum 2 is in cinemas now via 20th Century Fox

By Cathy Reay