Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb Blu-ray Review
The script’s slight narrative drive (David Guion, Michael Handelman wrote it from a story by them and Mark Friedman but with lots of obvious improvisation going on almost constantly) allows for a number of sidetracked adventures that have little or nothing to do with the story but provide momentary comedic thrills or tongue-in-cheek nods to contemporary culture. Falling down an airshaft, Jedediah and Octavius eventually find themselves in a miniature model of Pompeii which erupts with hot lava every hour. Larry gets regularly interrupted by another stowaway, a new Neanderthal named Laaa cast in his likeness and who considers him his father (extending the movie’s problems with parenting with Stiller’s Larry struggling with both his cave man “offspring” as well as his son who wants to take a year off after high school to “find himself”). The chase of Lancelot away from the museum allows for an extended sequence at a London revival of Camelot with Hugh Jackman playing and singing King Arthur and being interrupted mid-scene by the feisty knight ready to claim his Guinevere. Of course, what would the franchise be without the gang combatting some out of control museum exhibits including a mythological beast that mixes elements of the hydra with a particularly vicious cobra, and there’s a treasurable sequence when Larry, Lancelot, and Teddy fall into M.C. Escher’s lithograph Relativity while trying to wrest the tablet for themselves. All of this near-insanity (don't forget the pee jokes for Dexter) is firmly held together by director Shawn Levy who keeps things running smoothly and efficiently and never allows the film’s novel special effects to ever become more important than characters and the emotions they portray.
Ben Stiller has a field day playing the already familiar Larry as well as the caveman Laaa, and the scenes where he plays opposite himself via digital trickery are indeed priceless. There are also genuine feelings which come to the fore as he bids goodbye to his friends near movie’s end managing to wring tears from viewers as the franchise’s doors begin closing. Robin Williams is as reliable as ever as Teddy Roosevelt, but he has an eerily prescient speech as the loss of magic begins turning him back to wax that serves as a kind of symbolic farewell to all and which definitely gives one pause. Dan Stevens is charisma personified as Lancelot, and he swings a mean blade even if his character’s switch from gallant to mercenary seems somewhat abrupt. Skyler Gisondo as Larry’s son Nick isn’t quite as appealing as Jake Cherry who played him in the previous two films. Other newcomers include Rebel Wilson as a London museum guard who falls hard for Laaa, and Ben Kingsley as Merenkahre who has the answers Larry is seeking. It’s nice to see Dick Van Dyke and Mickey Rooney back for a final turn as the retired guards whom Larry replaced and Ricky Gervais as museum head Dr. McPhee as well as Owen Wilson, Steve Coogan, Rami Malek, Patrick Gallagher, and Mizuo Peck returning for one final time as other friendly exhibits.
Deleted/Extended Scenes (14:13, HD): seven scenes which may be viewed individually or together in montage.
Improv, Absurdity, and Cracking Up (8:05, HD): director Shawn Levy expresses his enthusiasm for allowing his talented actors, some of the best comic performers in the business, to improvise on the set. The featurette shows us some various takes of scenes where the actors try variations on lines for greater comic effect.
The Theory of Relativity (12:09, HD): offers an interesting behind-the-scenes look at how the M.C. Escher lithograph sequence was accomplished with a mixture of a green screen room and various visual effects. Along with director Shawn Levy, film editor Dean Zimmerman and special effects supervisor Erik Nash comment on the various stages of nailing this tricky sequence for the camera.
Becoming Laaa (7:24, HD): a behind-the-scenes look at how Ben Stiller as Larry played in scenes with himself as the character Laaa. Director Shawn Levy and Stiller’s stand-in took turns as placement markers for Stiller’s eye-line.
A Day in the Afterlife (16:26, HD): an overextended skit where Craig the Mummy is allowed to be a background artist and takes advantage of his opportunity to make a nuisance of himself to all of the production personnel.
The Home of History: Behind the Scenes of The British Museum (21:24, HD): shooting for a week at the actual British Museum, several of the various department heads at the museum comment about the areas of the museum where action and characters are going to occur.
Fight at the Museum (6:22, HD): a behind-the-scenes look at how Ben Stiller and Dan Stevens prepared for the fight with the mythical Xingliu. Fight choreographer Brad Martin, director Shawn Levy, and effects coordinator Erik Nash discuss the roles they played in making the battle seem real.
Creating Visual Effects (3:10, HD): a succession of scenes showing the various layers of effects being added to actual photography.
Art Galleries: a pre-viz gallery shows sketches of various sets and designs. A selection of color stills features the cast in character.
Theatrical Trailers (4:49, HD): two trailers may be viewed separately or together.
Promo Trailers (HD): Peanuts, Penguins of Madagascar, Russell Madness.
DVD/Digital Copy/Ultraviolet: disc and code sheet enclosed in the case.
There’s a melancholy, nostalgic sweetness attached to the third and last installment of the Night at the Museum franchise. It’s not just that we’re saying goodbye to not only the franchise and to stalwart performers Robin Williams and Mickey Rooney but also to a kind of knuckleheaded family fare that just doesn’t seem to be around any more other than in this series. While the scripting isn’t all that tight and there’s a meandering quality to the narrative, the actors are so engaging amid the usual comic mayhem that it’s easy to simply give up to the nonsense for ninety minutes. It’s harmless, pointless fun.
Studio: Fox
Distributed By: N/A
Video Resolution and Encode: 1080P/AVC
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audio: English 7.1 DTS-HDMA, Spanish 5.1 DD, French 5.1 DD
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
Rating: PG
Run Time: 1 Hr. 38 Min.
Package Includes: Blu-ray, DVD, Digital Copy, UltraViolet
keep case in a slipcoverDisc Type: BD50 (dual layer)
Region: A
Release Date: 03/10/2015
MSRP: $39.99
The Production Rating: 3/5
The script’s slight narrative drive (David Guion, Michael Handelman wrote it from a story by them and Mark Friedman but with lots of obvious improvisation going on almost constantly) allows for a number of sidetracked adventures that have little or nothing to do with the story but provide momentary comedic thrills or tongue-in-cheek nods to contemporary culture. Falling down an airshaft, Jedediah and Octavius eventually find themselves in a miniature model of Pompeii which erupts with hot lava every hour. Larry gets regularly interrupted by another stowaway, a new Neanderthal named Laaa cast in his likeness and who considers him his father (extending the movie’s problems with parenting with Stiller’s Larry struggling with both his cave man “offspring” as well as his son who wants to take a year off after high school to “find himself”). The chase of Lancelot away from the museum allows for an extended sequence at a London revival of Camelot with Hugh Jackman playing and singing King Arthur and being interrupted mid-scene by the feisty knight ready to claim his Guinevere. Of course, what would the franchise be without the gang combatting some out of control museum exhibits including a mythological beast that mixes elements of the hydra with a particularly vicious cobra, and there’s a treasurable sequence when Larry, Lancelot, and Teddy fall into M.C. Escher’s lithograph Relativity while trying to wrest the tablet for themselves. All of this near-insanity (don't forget the pee jokes for Dexter) is firmly held together by director Shawn Levy who keeps things running smoothly and efficiently and never allows the film’s novel special effects to ever become more important than characters and the emotions they portray.
Ben Stiller has a field day playing the already familiar Larry as well as the caveman Laaa, and the scenes where he plays opposite himself via digital trickery are indeed priceless. There are also genuine feelings which come to the fore as he bids goodbye to his friends near movie’s end managing to wring tears from viewers as the franchise’s doors begin closing. Robin Williams is as reliable as ever as Teddy Roosevelt, but he has an eerily prescient speech as the loss of magic begins turning him back to wax that serves as a kind of symbolic farewell to all and which definitely gives one pause. Dan Stevens is charisma personified as Lancelot, and he swings a mean blade even if his character’s switch from gallant to mercenary seems somewhat abrupt. Skyler Gisondo as Larry’s son Nick isn’t quite as appealing as Jake Cherry who played him in the previous two films. Other newcomers include Rebel Wilson as a London museum guard who falls hard for Laaa, and Ben Kingsley as Merenkahre who has the answers Larry is seeking. It’s nice to see Dick Van Dyke and Mickey Rooney back for a final turn as the retired guards whom Larry replaced and Ricky Gervais as museum head Dr. McPhee as well as Owen Wilson, Steve Coogan, Rami Malek, Patrick Gallagher, and Mizuo Peck returning for one final time as other friendly exhibits.
Video Rating: 5/5 3D Rating: NA
Audio Rating: 5/5
Special Features Rating: 5/5
Deleted/Extended Scenes (14:13, HD): seven scenes which may be viewed individually or together in montage.
Improv, Absurdity, and Cracking Up (8:05, HD): director Shawn Levy expresses his enthusiasm for allowing his talented actors, some of the best comic performers in the business, to improvise on the set. The featurette shows us some various takes of scenes where the actors try variations on lines for greater comic effect.
The Theory of Relativity (12:09, HD): offers an interesting behind-the-scenes look at how the M.C. Escher lithograph sequence was accomplished with a mixture of a green screen room and various visual effects. Along with director Shawn Levy, film editor Dean Zimmerman and special effects supervisor Erik Nash comment on the various stages of nailing this tricky sequence for the camera.
Becoming Laaa (7:24, HD): a behind-the-scenes look at how Ben Stiller as Larry played in scenes with himself as the character Laaa. Director Shawn Levy and Stiller’s stand-in took turns as placement markers for Stiller’s eye-line.
A Day in the Afterlife (16:26, HD): an overextended skit where Craig the Mummy is allowed to be a background artist and takes advantage of his opportunity to make a nuisance of himself to all of the production personnel.
The Home of History: Behind the Scenes of The British Museum (21:24, HD): shooting for a week at the actual British Museum, several of the various department heads at the museum comment about the areas of the museum where action and characters are going to occur.
Fight at the Museum (6:22, HD): a behind-the-scenes look at how Ben Stiller and Dan Stevens prepared for the fight with the mythical Xingliu. Fight choreographer Brad Martin, director Shawn Levy, and effects coordinator Erik Nash discuss the roles they played in making the battle seem real.
Creating Visual Effects (3:10, HD): a succession of scenes showing the various layers of effects being added to actual photography.
Art Galleries: a pre-viz gallery shows sketches of various sets and designs. A selection of color stills features the cast in character.
Theatrical Trailers (4:49, HD): two trailers may be viewed separately or together.
Promo Trailers (HD): Peanuts, Penguins of Madagascar, Russell Madness.
DVD/Digital Copy/Ultraviolet: disc and code sheet enclosed in the case.
Overall Rating: 3.5/5
Reviewed By: Matt Hough
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