- Join Nicolas Cage on a heart-pounding adventure that will have you on the edge of your seat in a race to find the Lost City of Gold. Grounded in history, imbued with myth and mystery, Disney’s NATIONAL TREASURE 2: BOOK OF SECRETS takes you on a globe-trotting quest full of adrenaline-pumping twists and turns — all leading to the final clue in a mysterious and highly guarded book containing ce
Ben Gates (Nicolas Cage) sets out to find the lost 18 pages from the diary of Abraham Lincoln’s assassin, John Wilkes Booth. One of the 18 missing pages has been discovered by Jeb Wilkinson (Ed Harris). On that page are the names of the Lincoln assassination conspirators. Thomas Gates, Ben Gates’ great-great-grandfather, is listed on the page. After discovering this, Ben does not want Thomas Gates to be remembered “as a conspirator in the assassination of the man who brought this nation together.” His quest to clear his family’s name leads to unexpected twists and turns. Agent Sadusky (Harvey Keitel) tells Ben that a secret book has the information he needs. The president’s “book of secrets” holds documents, for presidents’ eyes only, of all the nations secrets; from the truth behind the JFK conspiracy, the missing minutes from the Watergate tapes, and Area 51. When Ben’s request to see the book is denied, he says he must kidnap the president. Each clue leads him closer “to a discovery that the world isn’t ready to believe.”Less engrossing than its 2004 predecessor National Treasure, Jon Turteltaub’s busy sequel National Treasure: Book of Secrets is nevertheless a colorful and witty adventure, another race against overwhelming odds for the answer to a historical riddle. Ben Gates (Nicolas Cage), the treasure hunter who feverishly sought, in the first film, the whereabouts of a war chest hidden by America’s forefathers, is now charged with protecting family honor. When a rival (Ed Harris) offers alleged proof that Gates’ ancestor, Thomas Gates, was not a Civil War-era hero but a participant in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, Ben and his father (Jon Voight) and crew (Justin Bartha, Diane Kruger) hopscotch through Paris, London, Washington DC, and South Dakota to gather evidence refuting the claim. The film is most fun when the hunt, as in National Treasure, squeezes Ben into such impossible situations as examining twin desks in the queen’s chambers in Buckingham Palace and the White House’s Oval Office, or kidnapping an American president (Bruce Greenwood) for a few minutes of frank talk. Helen Mirren, the previous year’s Oscar winner for Best Actress, wisely joins the cast of a likely hit film as Ben’s archaeologist mother, long-estranged from Voight’s character but as feisty as the rest of the family. Returning director Turteltaub takes excellent advantage of his colorful backdrops in European capitals and the always-eerie Mount Rushmore, and oversees some wildly imaginative sets for this dramedy’s feverish third act in an audacious and completely unexpected, legendary setting. If National Treasure: Book of Secrets doesn’t feel quite as crisp and unique as its predecessor, it is still ingenious and wry enough to laugh a bit at itself. –Tom Keogh
Stills from National Treasure: Book of Secrets (click for larger image)
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Buy “National Treasure 2 – Book of Secrets “ For Only $9.24
March 22, 2008
#1
It starts with a retro-looking Goofy cartoon that seems hand-drawn but probably is not. It’s mildly funny.
And then there’s the movie “National Treasure: Book of Secrets.” It is devoid of intelligence and wit and waaaaaaaay too long. But it was fun to examine Nicolas Cage’s hair and guess what shots required DHP (digital hair plugs).
It is amazing how movies like this get made. Oh wait, I know. The original was a surprise hit and made money. But it had a kernel of an idea and a plot that almost worked. The sequel looks like a clone of the original. But though the story regarding events of Lincoln’s assassination starts out kind of interesting, the plot quickly evaporates in thin air. Poof. Next thing we know Nic Cage is on a mission to restore his family’s honor. Sequences unfold devoid of any significance or tension. Just filler to kill time so it seems.
The best thing in the movie is near the end. There’s a two second close-up of a beautiful, freckle-faced young woman that’s attracted to the Riley character. Whoever owns that face will be a star.
If your are just looking for a place to get out of the rain or snow, then maybe two hours in a warm theater for about $9 is fair. But if you’re looking for entertainment, it’s robbery.
March 22, 2008
#2
Hey, if you are looking for a plot a fifth grader could write, combined with the hollow, monotone acting of Nicolas ‘Lame’ Cage, then this is the movie for you.
I would file National Treasure (1&2) under movies you will have to watch over and over, in the afterlife…the kind of afterlife where a guy in a red suit with horns is heard constantly laughing in the projection room.
March 22, 2008
#3
I’d really like to buy this, but why only full screen. The collectors edition also says it is in full screen. I only buy movies in wide screen
March 22, 2008
#4
There’s so much wrong about this pitiful film I don’t know where to start! As an adult, I found National Treasure: Book of Secrets the most boring movie I have seen on the big screen all year. I had to use every ounce of will power not to walk out of the theater and demand my money back!
Before the movie even started, I was forced to sit through an infuriatingly dopey Disney cartoon, which was nothing more than a not-so-subtle commercial for expensive T.V. and stereo equipment. It went on and on and on. Finally I had to close my eyes in order not to get overly aggravated! Wow! How low Disney has sunk to make a buck.
The story was written to the level of a 10 year old! There’s close to nothing to entertain an adult. It’s a blatant and poorly done rip-off of Raiders of the Lost Ark.
I can deal with a story that’s preposterous if it’s enjoyable. But kidnapping the president by walking him through a tunnel. How exciting! Finding a Central or South American city hidden many thousands of miles away in the Badlands of South Dakota! Yikes!, how insulting to all the Plains Indian tribes can you get? Or, how dumb do you think the American movie going audience is? Can at least a modicum of reality seep into the story?
The special affects are so trite! The props look so fake that I thought they were using an amusement park to film this movie. I was waiting for a water slide to show up at any moment!
The acting was pitiful! Nicholas Cage had such a painful expression on his face throughout the movie I though he must either be embarrassed or ashamed of himself for stooping so low. I realize actors need to make a living. But he, of all people, can pick and choose his film projects.
The only good thing I could think of is the scene with the President and a cameo of a Hillary Clinton look-alike at the President’s birthday party. Since the Hillary cameo was having such a good time at the party, it can be assumed the Democrats won the 2008 election!
March 22, 2008
#5
This has to be one of the worst sequels I have had the mis-fortune to sit through at the cinema.
A complete milk on the first film with a complete lack of any other original ideas, it should have gone directly to DVD and then we could pick it up in the bargain basement items.