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Night at the Museum

Night at the Museum (2006)

tomatometer

44

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.

41

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.

audience

76

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

My Rating

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

Apr 24, 2007

$250.8M

20th Century Fox

Cast

All Critics (133) | Top Critics (29) | Fresh (63) | Rotten (76) | DVD (32)

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

January 3, 2007 Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | Comment
Entertainment Weekly
Top Critic IconTop 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)
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic IconTop Critic

As mindless spectacle, this is reasonably entertaining.

January 3, 2007 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | Comment (1)
Chicago Reader
Top Critic IconTop Critic

It's just so dopey.

December 26, 2006 Comment
Ebert & Roeper
Top Critic IconTop Critic

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

December 22, 2006 Full Review Source: Variety | Comment
Variety
Top Critic IconTop 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
Toronto Star
Top Critic IconTop 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
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

Stiller dodges CGI creations in cute adventure.

July 10, 2008 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media | Comment
Common Sense Media

...lightweight and inoffensive...

July 28, 2007 Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | Comment
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
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
IGN Movies

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

June 13, 2007 Full Review Source: Film4 | Comment

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
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)

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

May 3, 2007 Full Review Source: Bangor Daily News (Maine) | Comment
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
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 | Comment
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
Buzzine Magazine

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

April 23, 2007 Full Review Source: NewsBlaze | Comment
NewsBlaze
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Night at the Museum

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

April 25, 2007
jmanard52

Super Reviewer

Ben Stiller is Larry a security guard in a museum. He discovers the exhibition characters come alive at night. The characters are all great especially Owen Wilson as the Cowboy and Robin Williams as President Teddy Roosevelt. They have to stop the retired security guards from stealing the treasures that bring them to

May 31, 2007
thmtsang
Candy Rose

Super Reviewer

    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 (8 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 (9 months ago)
    1. Cecil Fredricks: Moving on.
    – Submitted by Andrew M (9 months ago)
    1. Gus: He looks like a weirdy!
    – Submitted by Andrew M (9 months ago)

Latest News for Night at the Museum

October 12, 2011:
Ben Stiller Would Like to Rentaghost
He'll reunite with "Night at the Museum" scribes Thomas Lennon and Robert Ben Garant for an...

September 26, 2011:
Shawn Levy Talks The Hardy Men, Flash, and Night at the Museum 3
You probably shouldn't hold your breath for any of them.

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Foreign Titles

  • Nachts im Museum 1 (DE)
  • La Nuit au musée (FR)
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