Night at the Museum

San Francisco Chronicle Ruthe Stein

For all its dazzling computer-generated sequences, "Museum'' wouldn't be nearly the delight it is without the talents of some of the best comedians in the business.

Boston Globe Ty Burr

Stuffed with smart performers doing graciously silly work, and all Levy has to do is manage traffic.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Stephen Cole

A fantastic holiday toy that, amazingly enough, doesn't require batteries.

Miami Herald Connie Ogle

Wonderfully energetic.

Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum

Drawn from a children's book by Croatian illustrator Milan Trenc, this fantasy isn't exactly heavy, but its ideological implications are interesting nevertheless.

Washington Post Ann Hornaday

It's a fun ride, and the big payoff -- that history turns out to be way cooler than its reputation suggests -- is even more gratifying. Bully!

Portland Oregonian M. E. Russell

Night at the Museum ends up being a pretty fun all-ages comedy -- if you can survive its first 20 minutes.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

The truly bizarre Ben Stiller farce, Night at the Museum, is no laugh riot, and misfires all over the screen, but it develops its own unique charm and leaves a pleasant afterglow. A family audience could do worse for a comedy this holiday season.

Premiere Laine Ewen

After a slow start, this feel-good family film is a nice postcard from the Big Apple that may benefit New York and the Museum of Natural History as much as it does 20th Century Fox.

Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach

The sad truth is that the film squanders almost all of its inspiration in the first 20 minutes or so.

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

What a dull, nice movie, wrenched from a wild premise and battered into docility.

Film Threat Zach Haddad

The premise of Night at the Museum is definitely a bit more creative than the standard family films we are used to at this time of year, but the problem is that the film is marred with many gags that are outdated and therefore feel cheap.

Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey

If the filmmakers had a script half as good as their special effects, Night at the Museum would be a must-see.

USA Today Claudia Puig

Though the premise is clever -- everything comes to life at night in New York City's Natural History Museum -- this movie doesn't make the best comic use of the concept.

TV Guide Ken Fox

This loud, overlong and thoroughly exhausting fantasy, based on Milan Trenc's slim children's book, purports to introduce youngsters to the wonders of New York City's American Museum of Natural History, but in fact aims squarely at hyperactive kids who can't sit still or stand a moment's silence.

New York Daily News Jack Mathews

Night at the Museum takes a can't-miss comedy premise and misses by a country mile.

New York Post Lou Lumenick

Strands several generations of performers in a highly derivative script and hackneyed direction.

ReelViews James Berardinelli

With a cast featuring Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Robin Williams, and Ricky Gervais, one has a right to expect something amusing from Night at the Museum. Oddly, not only is the movie unfunny, but it rarely tries for laughs.

Village Voice Robert Wilonsky

The first half-hour's too slow; the last half-hour's too manic, as if to compensate. But at least it entertains, thanks in large measure to the buddy-pic relationship between Owen Wilson's miniature cowpoke and his Roman pal Steve Coogan.

The New York Times Stephen Holden

This season's answer to "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas," it's an overstuffed grab bag in which lumps of coal are glued together with melted candy.

The Hollywood Reporter Michael Rechtshaffen

Director Levy struggles to find a uniform pitch that would agreeably blend together the gags, the visual effects and the obligatory heart moments. In its absence, there's a stop-and-start hollowness that confuses noise and chaos for comic energy.

Variety Justin Chang

This rambunctious, "Jumanji"-style extravaganza is a gallery of special effects in search of a story; rarely has so much production value yielded so little in terms of audience engagement.

Los Angeles Times Kevin Crust

The bulk of the movie is a series of sight gags and set pieces that wreak much havoc but little else.

Empire Kim Newman

This energetically charmless 'family' fantasy lies there dead on screen, occasionally twitching at a funny line.

Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips

Stranded in this charmless fantasy, Stiller is reduced to his old halting, squirming tricks.

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

This movie is made by and for people who don't care about good storytelling.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Scott Tobias

Stiller's continued efforts to court the broadest possible audience has taken the edge off his comedy. Whenever he shares screen time with Williams, it looks like the grim future he's mapping out for himself.

Austin Chronicle Shawn Badgley

Watching Williams as Teddy Roosevelt ogle through binoculars Sacajawea (Mizuo Peck) while she stalks around a glassed-in display like some hippie chick in a buffalo-skin straitjacket after a bad trip at Woodstock ’94 makes me sad and uncomfortable.