Things that go bump in the night

If you saw the first instalment of Night at the Museum, you are undoubtedly longing for more of the face-slapping monkey, bone-fetching T-Rex, gum-loving Easter Island statue and the many other museum exhibits that come to life at night.

If that is the case, you will not be disappointed with this action-packed, bigger and better sequel, Battle of the Smithsonian. It's the first feature to be shot in the largest museum complex in the world - the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC, which houses everything from rockets to paintings and from a giant octopus to Dorothy's red slippers.

You can imagine how spectacular - not to mention bizarre - it would be for everything in a place like that to come to life, as it does in this heartwarming adventure comedy. After all, Smithsonian is more than a feast for the eyes - it delves into the meaning of friendship and love.

Former Museum of Natural History night guard Larry Daley (Ben Stiller) is now an established inventor, enjoying his newfound fortune and fame, but lacking friendship, fun and purpose in life.

That is, until he learns that some of his inanimate museum friends have been shipped to the vast Smithsonian archive - among them the magical Egyptian tablet that brings everything to life at night.

The bad news is that 'everything' in a place as inclusive as the Smithsonian includes the heinous Egyptian Pharaoh Kahmunrah, Tzar Ivan the Terrible, dictator Napoleon Bonaparte and nasty mob boss Al Capone. These bad guys of different generations form an ultimate axis of evil and together they plan to do what they had been planning all their lives - and afterlives in the museum - to take over the museum and then the world.