When the Museum of Natural History is closed for a refit, the majority of the exhibits are boxed up and sent for storage to the Smithsonian Institute. But little do the magical models who come to life at night know that they are going to be sent away for good. When former museum guide-turned-inventor Larry Daley gets a panicked phone-call from miniature cowboy Jedediah, he sets off to the capital to save his friends from Egyptian mummy Kahmunrah, who has created his own army from the likes of Al Capone, Napoleon and Ivan the Terrible. Aided by the delightfully sparky Amelia Earhart, he must somehow wrestle the life-giving golden tablet from the former mummy and save his friends.

It is fast-paced but adults’ enjoyment of it is going to depend largely on your tolerance for Ben Stiller. The director seems beholden to his star, allowing him the lions’ share of screen-time, even though he’s the least interesting of the players. It appears the director doesn’t care about his performers, using them as props to the comedy and making it difficult to empathise with them. It often feels as though the film is a proving ground for comedy veterans and up-and-comers who are virtually all wasted on their tiny roles. However having so many familiar faces involved doesn’t automatically mean the comedy comes thick and fast. This is mainly because of Levy’s flabby timing, which makes many gags (such as Rodin’s “The Thinker” turning out to be a posing meat-head) feel laboured. Other gags are too long, such as the prolonged monkey-slapping sequence and the singing cherubs that pursue Amelia and Larry. This is also true of the frequent chase sequences, which lack tension because you never feel as though the characters are really in danger. But Levy happily skips from one skit to the next, so there’s little time to wonder at the lack of story. The sense of wonder is undermined by the frequently iffy effects. Lots of the money shots are ruined by poor matting so you can tell where the CGI ends and reality begins. Although I did like the fact that Al Capone and his thugs are in black and white. But I though more could be done in the way of interacting with iconic exhibits. As a result this is a superficially entertaining but ultimately unsatisfying hundred-and-five minutes that could have easily lost ten minutes and been a better movie for it.

The characterisation is lax; Larry is still a largely mirthless man who is unhappy with his lot in life, despite now being very successful. The characters from the first film haven’t changed one iota. Teddy Roosevelt is still the fount of all knowledge, Octavius and Jedediah are still engaged in a borderline homo-erotic relationship, Sacajuwea is still under-written, Dr McPhee continues to be a stuffed shirt (although we thankfully see less of him) and the other players hang around in the background like glorified extras. They are now joined by a plethora of new characters, none of whom are particularly well-observed. Amelia Earhart is the closest we get to a player with personality, thanks to her rat-a-tat 1920s slang and thirst for adventure. Kahmunrah is a generic megalomaniac with hang-ups about his attire (“It’s a tunic!”) and his ragtag group of thugs aren’t sufficiently well developed to be memorable. The same is true of the dialogue, which is at its best when Amelia is rattling off anachronistic slang like a screwball comedy heroine, but doesn’t actually have much to say.