Night at the Museum - The Mysterious Tomb

It's Night at the Museum Again! Larry Daley (Ben Stiller), night watchman at New York's Museum of Natural History, has grown accustomed to seeing the exhibits here come to life every night thanks to a mysterious Egyptian tablet. But then the unexpected happens: the tablet is increasingly losing its magical power, and with it Larry may soon lose all his cherished friends like wax Teddy Roosevelt (Robin Williams) or the mini-exhibits of Octavius (Steve Coogan) and Jedediah (Owen Wilson). To figure out how to maintain the tablet's effect, Larry and Ahkmenrah (Rami Malek) must travel to London, where Pharaoh's parents are on display. Once in England, Larry must contend not only with newly awakened museum pieces and an arguably clingy caveman (also Ben Stiller), but also an overzealous night watchman (Rebel Wilson). Help might come from the noble Sir Lancelot (Dan Stevens). But he doesn't handle the power of new life well at all.

At the outset, Nights at the Museum - The Mysterious Tomb isn't made to win over those viewers who couldn't do anything with the first two installments. Rather, director Shawn Levy tries to offer all fans of the first films a round and worthy conclusion. That's why we don't want to rant too much about the clamorous slapstick, the thickly applied message about the importance of family or the inevitable wee-wee jokes. Rather, it's to question whether Levy has succeeded in bringing Larry Daley's story satisfactorily to its conclusion. And there, for all the justified criticism, the answer must be a resounding yes.

For one thing, the third film manages to build a nice bridge to the beginning by giving the three old night watchmen (Dick Van Dyke, Bill Cobbs and Mickey Rooney, who died shortly after filming) another small, amusing guest appearance. In addition, all the popular characters from the first two parts are back, from Dino Rex to capuchin monkey Dexter to the wax figure of Teddy Roosevelt, embodied by the also sadly deceased Robin Williams, who makes his last big screen appearance here. Many popular gags are warmed up slightly varied and also the not always easy relationship of Larry to his son is again an important topic. So it all seems very familiar, which fans will surely be happy about.

On the other hand, Levy of course tries to spice up the old familiar with something new. And that's why Larry not only gets to meet his Stone Age self, who of course immediately mistakes him for his Da-da, the whole mess squad also gets to go to London. A new museum with new exhibits - including Ahkmenrah's parents, played by professional Egyptian Ben Kingsley and Anjali Jay, a not-so-friendly dinosaur skeleton and a wax Lancelot. The latter is played by former Downton Abbey star Dan Stevens, who gets to convincingly show his comic side here, especially at the beginning. But one actor steals the show from all the other actors as well as from the computer-generated exhibits. Who that is, shall not be revealed at this point. Only this much perhaps. This short, wonderfully self-deprecating guest appearance in a London theatre makes up for many a flat gag and almost makes the trip to the cinema worthwhile on its own. The scenes in London are altogether entertaining and fast-paced. Only the question of who in Hollywood ever decided that Rebel Wilson, always playing the same role, was funny remains a real mystery even after her extraneous shaming performance as a British night watchman.

The finale offers a really rounded and even surprisingly emotional conclusion that really leaves nothing to be desired for viewers who like these movies. Night at the Museum - The Mysterious Tomb may not be a masterpiece overall - and sometimes not even a particularly good film. But for the audience it is made for, the adventurous family comedy is really good entertainment and a worthy farewell to beloved characters. And for that there is a very clear: Worth seeing!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp