Movie Review: National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets
I really enjoyed National Treasure. Since the movie was so successful, I wasn't surprised when I first heard a sequel was being made. I was interested in seeing National Treasure: Book of Secrets even before I saw a trailer. The actual title of the movie doesn't include the number 2 like the listing here.
I am not going to discuss much of the plot for National Treasure: Book of Secrets because I don't want to spoil anything for anyone interested in seeing the movie. I will just be mentioning things that I saw in the different trailers. Anyone who hasn't seen any of the trailers and doesn't want to know anything about the plot of the movie should skip the next paragraph. A few things that I mention could be minor spoilers for anyone who hasn’t already seen the first movie.
Benjamin Franklin Gates and his father Patrick had been proud of their ancestor Thomas. Ben and Patrick were shocked when Mitch Wilkinson turned up with a historical item that seemed to implicate that Thomas had been involved in the planning of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Ben was sure that Thomas hadn’t been involved. Ben starts looking into the assassination and uncovers clues that could lead to a new hidden treasure in his effort to clear Thomas. Ben did turn to Riley for help with certain things. Abigail also decided to help and Ben even turned to another family member, Emily, for some assistance with something.
Before National Treasure: Book of Secrets began, there was a new Goofy cartoon. At first I thought it was one of the older cartoons since the animation and opening credits had the same look as the older cartoons. I thought the cartoon was cute and funny and am hoping that Disney continues to produce new cartoons to play before other movies as well.
I really don’t know how much time was supposed to have passed since the end of National Treasure and the beginning of National Treasure: Book of Secrets. Enough time had passed for Ben to have become really well known because of events in the first movie. There wasn’t an actual storyline carried over from the first movie, so it isn’t absolutely necessary for people to see it before watching the new movie. The characters will be more developed and certain things they do will make more sense if the movies are watched in order. A few things that happened in the first movie were mentioned briefly. Those references won’t make sense to people who haven’t seen the first movie yet. Something was briefly mentioned in this movie that did seem to be laying the groundwork for another possible sequel.
I thought that National Treasure: Book of Secrets was a fun adventure movie. This movie isn’t serious and wasn’t meant to be taken seriously. It was just intended to provide a few hours of mindless of entertaining and I think the movie accomplished that very well. I thought it was interesting how history connected to the Civil War and assassination of Abraham Lincoln were tied into what was going on. Certain aspects of the adventure didn’t seem to work as well as they did in the first movie though. I don’t think Ben had to figure out as many clues as he did in the first movie. The clues that were used didn’t seem to be as interesting as ones from the first movie. I did still really enjoy the movie and think it is worth seeing for people in the mood for a fun adventure type of movie, especially if they enjoyed the first movie. People that didn’t care for National Treasure probably won’t like this one either.
There was some mystery in National Treasure: Book of Secrets connected to what had really happened with Thomas Gates, if Ben would be able to clear his name and how finding a treasure would accomplish that. I didn’t think the movie was suspenseful overall even though there were a few suspenseful moments throughout the movie. Certain aspects of the movie were predictable which will probably disappoint some viewers. I wasn’t bothered by that because I thought the movie was entertaining. There was a decent amount of action added in that helped to keep things interesting. The action scenes were well done and believable without going overboard and taking over the entire movie like has happened in some other movies. The movie wasn’t funny overall, but there was humor added in throughout the movie.
All most all of the main characters from National Treasure returned for National Treasure: Book of Secrets. Ben was once again in most of the movie. He was still interested in searching for lost treasure and he was determined to clear his ancestor’s name. Nicolas Cage was fine in the part. Abigail may have been in a bit more of the movie this time. She was willing to help Ben try to clear Thomas though the two of them did descend into bickering over stupid things a few times. I’m guessing that was done to create some sort of tension or conflict between sort of like there was in the first movie but I didn’t think it was necessary. Diane Kruger was fine in the part.
Riley Poole was sort of in Ben’s shadow and looked at as only his assistant by many people even though he played a very important part in the discovery Ben made. I really liked Riley. He was responsible for many of the funniest lines again. Justin Bartha did steal several of the scenes he was in. Patrick was more involved in the search this time and it did seem like he and Ben had a much better relationship. I really liked Jon Voight in the part. He was endearing in some scenes and also funny in others. He was very believable as Patrick and he and Cage did seem believable as a father and son. Harvey Keitel was back in a few short scenes as agent Sadusky. It would have been nice if he had more to do.
Emily Appleton was a new character added for this movie. She was a relative that Ben turned to for help with something. I’m not saying anything more specific about her because I don’t want to spoil anything for people who haven’t seen the movie yet. I did think the character fit in very well and was a good addition. Helen Mirren was wonderful in the part. She and Voight had good chemistry in the scenes they had together and they actually provided a few of the funny moments.
Mitch Wilkinson was the other new character that played an important part in what was going on. He had a historical item that had been passed down in his family that he said implicated Thomas Gates in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. It wasn’t completely clear for most of the movie why Mitch decided to share the item when he did. Ed Harris was very good in the part, though I think his performance in Gone Baby Gone was better. That was just a much stronger performance overall. Bruce Greenwood turned up in a few scenes as the President.
National Treasure: Book of Secrets was a fun, entertaining adventure movie. It is a good pick for someone looking to escape with a few hours of mindless entertainment.