Visit the Movie Wave Store | Movie Wave Home | Reviews by Title | Reviews by Composer | Contact me NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: BATTLE OF THE SMITHSONIAN All the ingredients of a good score - but they don't come together well A review by JAMES SOUTHALL Music composed by ALAN SILVESTRI Rating * * 1/2

Performed by THE HOLLYWOOD STUDIO SYMPHONY conducted by ALAN SILVESTRI Orchestration ABE LIBBOS DAVE METZGER JOHN ASHTON THOMAS Engineered by DENNIS SANDS STEVE KEMPSTER Produced by ALAN SILVESTRI DAVID BIFANO Album running time 50:01 Released by VARESE SARABANDE Catalog number 302 066 969 2 Album cover copyright (c) 2009 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation; review copyright (c) 2009 James Southall.

Sometimes films compound all expectations and do far better than anyone really imagines they might - such was the case with Shaun Levy's Night at the Museum, which ended up being the second most-successful film of  2006.  A silly - but obviously well-liked - film about museum exhibits coming to life, the sequel (Battle of the Smithsonian) moves to what is probably the US's most famous museum; and this time round Ben Stiller is joined on his adventures by Amy Adams as Amelia Earhart, Christopher Guest as Ivan the Terrible and Robin Williams comes back as Theodore Roosevelt.   Composer Alan Silvestri was a late addition to the crew for the first movie after John Ottman's score was rejected; and the somewhat rushed nature of his involvement seemed a perfectly reasonable defence for the slightly disjointed feel to the music, which certainly gave the impression of something which had been put together in a hurry - even though Silvestri's typically professional approach was always in evidence.  However, there was no need for his score for the sequel to be rushed - so I'm not sure what has happened here. Indeed, to all intents and purposes, this is very nearly the same score as Silvestri provided for the first film - you'd have a hard time telling them apart in a line-up, that's for sure.  The first score's strengths are all repeated, as are its weaknesses.  Chief amongst the strengths is the main theme - always a Silvestri speciality - and that is reprised in the opening piece, but after that its appearances are mostly in fragmented form.  "The Tablet" shapes up to be a great piece of action/adventure music (which this composer can do very well) but sadly then becomes symptomatic of what prevents this album from being truly enjoyable - changing suddenly from typical Silvestri action music into a silly civil war tune.  These sudden, complete changes in direction from the music are present throughout the album, and make listening to it a real challenge. There are certainly some excellent moments here - a nice Mummy Returns-style theme in "He Doesn't Have All Night", a delightful comedy string theme in "The Adventure Continues" - but it is rare that any idea is showcased for more than a few seconds before Silvestri moves onto something else.  Over a 50-minute album, that becomes very tiresome, very quickly.  Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian is no doubt a perfectly fine film score, but it's one which just doesn't work as an album - there are simply too many ideas, too much going into the mix, and nothing gets enough attention.  All the right ingredients are here, but when added into the melting pot together, what is produced is far less than the sum of its parts.   Tracks Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2:38) Daley Devices (:36) This Night is their Last (4:35) To Washington (:37) Getting Past Security (1:49) Finding Jed and the Others (3:16) I Have Come Back to Life (1:04) The Tablet (3:25) I Smell Adventure (4:31) He Doesn't Have All Night (1:46) The Adventure Continues (3:25) Octavius Attacks (1:22) Entering the Air and Space Museum (1:32) Escape in Wright Flyer (3:29) Get the Combination (2:19) Gate to the Underworld (1:02) I Ride the Squirrel (1:25) On Your Toes (1:54) The Battle (1:44) Divide the House (1:28) Victory is Ours (1:19) Goodbye (2:43) Museum Open Late (2:02)