Night At The Museum: Secret Of The Tomb – The BRWC Review

16th December 2014

By Amelia Forsbrook.

2 Stars

Stars, stripes and the Union Jack fly proudly above an Egyptian dig, as Western archaeologists search for gold in the sand. It may be seventy-odd years before franchise-friendly Larry Daley (Ben Stiller) settles in for his last night at the museum, but in this madcap rummage around Ancient Afro-Asiatic curses and rituals, another culture has clearly staked its claim on the buried treasure’s story.

Back to the present day. Change is afoot at the American Museum of Natural History in this high-budget final instalment of the Night at the Museum trilogy. There’s a new planetarium at the museum, and Larry – now head of special effects – is put in charge of the launch. As New York’s glitterarti gather for the grand opening, a primitive curse is kicking off and the reanimated museum exhibits are turning back into wax. With Stiller in its starring role giving his standard everyman routine, Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb presents a problem that only a flawed yet well-meaning guy can fix.

At its heart, “Tomb” exhibits a commentary on colonialism and cultural entitlement, and the politics of archiving – but you may have to excavate deep to find this prophecy. After a little bit of haphazard detective work, Larry learns that the Egyptologists’ 1930s hoard was split between New York and the British Museum. In true West-focused spirit, Larry’s quest to reconcile a hoard of pillaged and personified Egyptian treasures then takes him not to Egypt, but to the UK. When the team pack up and follow a predictable The Clash soundtrack to London, humble Larry’s status as a North American museum representative gives him the power to deliver a pep talk to the entirety of global history, from Octavius (Steve Coogan) to Teddy Roosevelt (Robin Williams).

As two of the world’s greatest museums collide, there’s a lot of wonder to be mined – but sadly, hundreds of millennia of history do not this blockbuster make. True, there are a couple of jaw-dropping moments, where CGI is used to enhance the appeal of artefacts and exhibitions: for instance, figures glued into the Elgin Marbles throw repetitive punches, and there’s an artfully disorientating battle within a M.C. Escher print. Sadly, these delights are short-lived in a film that’s so heavily clouded with silliness and surplus special effects, where a life-threatening blaze in a miniature reconstruction of Pompeii is put out with monkey urine. In a building populated by Ming Dynasty vases, Ango-Saxon buckles and Ancient Roman frescos, it’s a shame to see actors directing the bulk of their awe at cloying CGI spectacles, as “Tomb” depicts a culture more impressed by its present, than by the past.

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