Do you want to see ‘Night at the Museum’?

Night at the Museum (2006)

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All Critics
Top Critics

Average Rating: 5.3/10
Reviews Counted: 130
Fresh: 57 | Rotten: 73

Parents might call this either a spectacle-filled adventure or a shallow and vapid CG-fest, depending on whether they choose to embrace this on the same level as their kids.

Average Rating: 5.3/10
Critic Reviews: 29
Fresh: 12 | Rotten: 17

Parents might call this either a spectacle-filled adventure or a shallow and vapid CG-fest, depending on whether they choose to embrace this on the same level as their kids.

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Average Rating: 3.6/5
User Ratings: 614,714

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Movie Info

The new night watchman at New York's Museum of Natural History finds that the job comes with more responsibility than he ever dreamed in this wild fantasy comedy directed by Shawn Levy and starring Ben Stiller, Robin Williams, Mickey Rooney, and Dick Van Dyke. Larry Daley (Stiller) is a kind-hearted dreamer who always knew that he was destined for greatness, he just never quite knew how. None of his ideas or inventions has panned out, so with a heavy heart, he takes a regular job as a lowly

PG, 1 hr. 48 min.

Action & Adventure, Kids & Family, Comedy

Directed By: Shawn Levy

Written By: Robert Ben Garant, Thomas Lennon

In Theaters: Dec 22, 2006 Wide

On DVD: Apr 24, 2007

Box Office:$250.8M

20th Century Fox

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

January 3, 2007 Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly

| Comment

Lisa Schwarzbaum

Entertainment Weekly

Top Critic

A film that veers, often without much direction, between a family-friendly comic romp and an attempt to touch our souls with heartfelt emotion.

January 3, 2007 Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times

| Comment (1)

Bill Zwecker

Chicago Sun-Times

Top Critic

As mindless spectacle, this is reasonably entertaining.

January 3, 2007 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader

| Comment (1)

Jonathan Rosenbaum

Chicago Reader

Top Critic

It's just so dopey.

December 26, 2006 Comment

Richard Roeper

Ebert & Roeper

Top Critic

Rarely has so much production value yielded so little in terms of audience engagement.

December 22, 2006 Full Review Source: Variety

| Comment

Justin Chang

Variety

Top Critic

Fun for the whole family? Probably not, but certainly for those members who are only permitted to hang out when the lawyers say it's okay.

December 22, 2006 Full Review Source: Toronto Star

| Comment

Geoff Pevere

Toronto Star

Top Critic

This is a good example of Hollywood commercial calculation that actually pays off with a few entertainment dividends. It all seems very cold and calculated, and yet the film still turns out to be decently entertaining.

June 17, 2009 Full Review Source: Cinefantastique

| Comment

Steve Biodrowski

Cinefantastique

If you want to be entertained for a couple of hours with the whole family on Christmas, it's just what the doctor ordered.

August 25, 2008 Full Review Source: ReelzChannel.com

| Comment

Heather Huntington

ReelzChannel.com Source: ReelzChannel.com

Stiller dodges CGI creations in cute adventure.

July 10, 2008 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media

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Cynthia Fuchs

Common Sense Media

...lightweight and inoffensive...

July 28, 2007 Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews

| Comment

David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

Night at the Museum is no Night at the Opera, but there are certainly funny moments. There are also adventurous moments and poignant ones in this family film.

July 26, 2007 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis

| Comment

James Plath

Movie Metropolis

. Its narrative is just pitched toward adolescent fantasy and silly, frequently obvious shenanigans to a hearty degree, and with no sort of consistent inner logic the movie tilts toward fleeting entertainment, with no inherent replay value or strongly fel

June 25, 2007 Full Review Source: IGN Movies

| Comment

Brent Simon

IGN Movies

Not everything on display is sufficiently alive in this museum-set comedy adventure.

June 13, 2007 Full Review Source: Film4

| Comment

Anton Bitel

Film4

it's one of those high concept childhood fantasy films that will stay in your heart long after watching it

June 1, 2007 Full Review Source: 7M Pictures

| Comment

Kevin Carr

7M Pictures

What promises to be a fun Spielbergian romp for the whole family is a bit on the bland and mediocre side.

May 24, 2007 Full Review Source: Sci-Fi Movie Page

| Comment (1)

James O'Ehley

Sci-Fi Movie Page Source: Sci-Fi Movie Page

The idea is ingenious. The execution? Not so much.

May 3, 2007 Full Review Source: Bangor Daily News (Maine)

| Comment

Christopher Smith

Bangor Daily News (Maine)

It's a better than average CGI-fest, more often silly than funny. But it makes some good points about courage, self-respect, and the importance of learning about history.

April 27, 2007 Comment

Nell Minow

Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies

... just enjoy the slapstick shenanigans and Stiller's smart remarks as he brings a new angle to engaging with history.

April 26, 2007 Full Review Source: MSN.com

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Sean Axmaker

MSN.com

The DVD is packed with additional release material, including two audio commentaries and a featurette on Stiller's simian costar.

April 24, 2007 Comment

Staci Layne Wilson

Buzzine Magazine

A readily-digestible, and just as easily forgettable, frenetically-paced family flick.

April 23, 2007 Full Review Source: NewsBlaze

| Comment

Kam Williams

NewsBlaze

More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Night at the Museum

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I normally dont like Ben stiller but this was a nice movie and very enjoyable.

April 25, 2007

John Manard

Super Reviewer

Night at the Museum has a very interesting premise that might have worked if put in the right hands. Unfortunately, what you get is a one joke, CGI infested, unconvincing Ben Stiller kid's movie that you know in a few years time after they've watched it they will look back and regret wasting their money.

October 28, 2011

Michael Miller

Super Reviewer

Night at the Museum Quotes

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1. Jedediah: Look, we're men. We fight, okay? That's what we do!
2. Octavius: It's kinda how we pass the time.
– Submitted by Carmela G (5 months ago)
1. Gus: Instructions. You start with One. Two. Three...
2. Larry Daley: Four?
3. Teddy Roosevelt: Are you crackin' wise? I oughta punch you in the nose, Hopscotch.
– Submitted by Andrew M (5 months ago)
1. Cecil Fredricks: Moving on.
– Submitted by Andrew M (5 months ago)
1. Gus: He looks like a weirdy!
– Submitted by Andrew M (5 months ago)

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