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Night at the Museum
Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Night at the Museum reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 48 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
6.9 out of 10
based on 28 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 137 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

MPAA RATING: PG for mild action, language and brief rude humor

Starring Ben Stiller, Carla Gugino, Robin Williams, Dick Van Dyke, Steve Coogan, Patrick Gallagher, Ricky Gervais, and Mickey Rooney

In this wild comedy fantasy, a bumbling night watchman (Stiller) at New York's Museum of Natural History inadvertently triggers a dormant curse that fully animates the dioramas, causing Mayans, Romans, Gladiators and cowboys to emerge, not to mention an angry T-Rex.


GENRE(S): Action  |  Comedy  |  Family/Kids  |  Fantasy  
WRITTEN BY: Ben Garant (also screen story)
Thomas Lennon (also screen story)
Milan Trenc (book)
 
DIRECTED BY: Shawn Levy  
RELEASE DATE: DVD: April 24, 2007 
Theatrical: December 22, 2006 
RUNNING TIME: 108 minutes, Color 
ORIGIN: USA 

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

75
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.
Read Full Review
75
Boston Globe Ty Burr
Stuffed with smart performers doing graciously silly work, and all Levy has to do is manage traffic.
Read Full Review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Stephen Cole
A fantastic holiday toy that, amazingly enough, doesn't require batteries.
Read Full Review
75
Miami Herald Connie Ogle
Wonderfully energetic.
Read Full Review
70
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.
Read Full Review
70
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!
Read Full Review
67
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.
Read Full Review
67
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.
Read Full Review
63
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.
Read Full Review
58
Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach
The sad truth is that the film squanders almost all of its inspiration in the first 20 minutes or so.
Read Full Review
58
Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum
What a dull, nice movie, wrenched from a wild premise and battered into docility.
Read Full Review
50
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.
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50
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.
Read Full Review
50
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.
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50
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.
Read Full Review
50
New York Daily News Jack Mathews
Night at the Museum takes a can't-miss comedy premise and misses by a country mile.
Read Full Review
50
New York Post Lou Lumenick
Strands several generations of performers in a highly derivative script and hackneyed direction.
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50
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.
Read Full Review
50
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.
Read Full Review
40
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.
Read Full Review
40
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.
Read Full Review
40
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.
Read Full Review
40
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.
Read Full Review
40
Empire Kim Newman
This energetically charmless 'family' fantasy lies there dead on screen, occasionally twitching at a funny line.
Read Full Review
38
Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips
Stranded in this charmless fantasy, Stiller is reduced to his old halting, squirming tricks.
Read Full Review
38
Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman
This movie is made by and for people who don't care about good storytelling.
Read Full Review
33
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.
Read Full Review
20
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.
Read Full Review

What Our Users Said

Vote Now!The average user rating for this movie is 6.9 (out of 10) based on 137 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Amy B. gave it an8:
I love the movie, not just because of how funny it was, but also of all the history. I'm only 14 and i love history. Although not many like history in that way, the movie, because we watched it for an English assignment, every one was talking non-stop about all the interesting things.

Hessa M gave it a10:
Its really amazing film i like bin stiller and his funny films.

William B. gave it a9:
Great laughs, and I'm not a huge Ben Stiller fan, but the supporting cast made it a truly fun time.

Stephanie S. gave it a5:
I was less than amused with this movie. Because of Ben Stiller I expected this movie to be a riot, but came out disappointed. It was okay but I wouldn't suggest buying it.

[Anonymous] gave it a6:
A competent family film with some tacky visual accomplishments, but it isn't anything more than what it is. Nonetheless, it is worth a spin.

Hugh R. gave it a7:
Good fun for the family. Full of lots of silly humor.

Eric C. gave it a2:
Bland, seen-it-before comedy could be forgivable if this movie spent more time simply running around the museum with its entertaining inhabitants. Unfortunately, most of the movie tries to develop a story, and a terrible one at that.

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