‘Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian’

History repeats itself -- in more ways than one -- in "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian," a sequel to 2006's family-friendly hit that serves up more fanciful, family-friendly fun.

If that's all you're looking for, welcome home.

But if you long for some genuine movie magic to enliven a host of computer-generated effects, "Battle of the Smithsonian" doesn't quite win the war.

More's the pity, because any movie that can transform museums from musty warehouses to magical, mystical gateways to legend deserves a definite "A" for effort.

The movie itself isn't exactly Grade A, but it still qualifies as an occasionally clever, frequently funny and generally lively adventure.

Once again, our adventure guide is Larry Daley (wry, sly Ben Stiller).

But he's not the Larry Daley we encountered in the first movie.

He's traded in his night-watchman gig at New York's Natural History Museum for success as a gadget guru and infomercial pitchman for such practical doodads as glow-in-the-dark flashlights.

Larry still drops by the old exhibit hall from time to time, renewing friendships with such museum fixtures as Teddy Roosevelt (a bully Robin Williams), the sage Sacajawea (Mizuo Peck), slap-happy monkey Dexter and those miniature macho enemies turned saddle-pals, cowboy Jed (Owen Wilson) and noble Roman Octavius (Steve Coogan).

But things aren't the same. And they never will be, now that Dr. McPhee (Ricky Gervais) has hatched a plan to update the museum by replacing the old-fashioned dioramas with new-fangled interactive exhibits.

That means exiling Larry's pals to Washington, D.C., where they'll be crated up and stored somewhere beneath the Smithsonian Institution, the largest museum complex in the world.

Parting may be sweet sorrow, but there's nothing sweet about what happens when Akhmenrah (Rami Malek) loses control of the gold Egyptian tablet that brings everyone to life by the light of the moon.

That's because his power-crazed big brother Kahmunrah (the sublimely silly Hank Azaria) has been waiting a long time to get his hands on the magical artifact -- with which he plans to summon his armies of the dead, thereby enabling him to launch the fiendish rule-the-world plot that's been in the works for the past few thousand years.

Good thing Larry is his own boss -- and doesn't need permission to blow off the folks from Wal-Mart so he can hustle down to D.C. and save his friends, not to mention the world, from Kahmunrah and evil allies Ivan the Terrible (Christopher Guest), Napoleon Bonaparte (Alain Chabat) and Al Capone (Jon Bernthal).

Yet Larry finds a few allies of his own once he infiltrates the Smithsonian, from blowhard Gen. George A. Custer (a blustery Bill Hader) to spunky, up-for-anything aviatrix Amelia Earhart (Amy Adams), who shows our hero a thing or three about doing what you love -- and loving what you do.

Returning screenwriters Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon cook up more imaginative ways for museum exhibits to come to life, from great paintings to iconic statues. For example, Rodin's Thinker isn't quite the intellectual you might expect, but Abraham Lincoln's definitely a man of action, departing his familiar post at the Lincoln Memorial when called to duty.

(As for those of us who can't help noting that Rodin's Thinker isn't even at the Smithsonian, or that you have to visit Chicago's Art Institute to see "American Gothic," we'll simply have to sigh and forgive these and numerous other inaccuracies in the name of goofy cinematic fun.)

Another "Night at the Museum" alumnus, director Shawn Levy ("The Pink Panther," "Cheaper by the Dozen") keeps things moving, but not always in the right way. He's a lot like a circus ringmaster, pointing our eyes in the appropriate direction without adding much to the show himself.

But never mind. At least Levy makes sure we're making note of the movie's legion of comic cut-ups. Some of them -- notably Jonah Hill as a zealous Smithsonian security guard -- get ample opportunity to show off, while others (the dependably deadpan Guest, for example) have little chance to shine.

Fortunately, Azaria's on the job, working himself into a fine froth as the petulant Kahmunrah. (Azaria's obviously a big fan of Boris Karloff as the Mummy -- because he sounds just like him, little lisp and all.)

And, as the maximum-moxie Earhart, the endearing Adams turns out to be the bee's knees, the cat's pajamas and everything in between, even when she's stealing a bit too much of Larry's thunder -- and, in the process, diluting Stiller's comedic impact.

Yet, as Honest Abe himself observes, the two of them do make a dandy couple.

Ultimately, their bond plays a major role in bringing "Battle of the Smithsonian" to life, demonstrating that there are times when simple human emotions prove far more magical than all the high-tech effects in the world.

Contact movie critic Carol Cling at ccling@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0272.