Great concept. Poor execution. So much could have been done with a story like this, but Night at the Museum blew its chance to be really good.

It stars Ben Stiller as an ordinary guy who gets a job as a night watchman at a natural history museum. He thinks it's a cinch, until he sees the exhibits comes to life every night, including a skeletal T-rex, Attila the Hun, Mayans, Roman Gladiators, a Neanderthal and President Teddy Roosevelt on horseback.

On paper (and, might we add, in the trailers), the story looks fresh and original. So much humour could have been milked out of the idea of historical figures and animals coming back to life (see Forrest Gump as a fine example of merging history and fiction).
Unfortunately, director Shawn Levy (Cheaper by the Dozen) and his screenwriters wasted these opportunities. They've gone for cheap shots and slapstick jokes, instead of something more solid and ingenious. The plot is so thin and simple, it could have been written by a teenager.

Leave your brain at the door, if you decide to catch this.