National Treasure: Book of Secrets (2007)
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Unless you really love déjà vu experiences, there’s no legitimate reason to sit through National Treasure: Book of Secrets in a theater. The first film didn’t exactly break new ground, but at least it was a fun romp through history that sort of made a twisted kind of sense if you didn’t analyze it closely. A straight-to-DVD sequel released theatrically on the strength of the cast (Academy Award-winner Helen Mirren’s even in this one), this second National Treasure movie attempts to cash in on the goodwill the original film built up by imitating it as closely as possible, right down to a nearly identical finale.
The whole film reeks of a ‘been there, done that’ scent. Yes, the actual physical locations have changed, but the story – along with the key players - remains pretty much the same. Even the action scenes are eerily reminiscent of what took place in National Treasure, with the addition of a super-long car chase sequence that has to be one of the most far-fetched in film history.
The Story
Nicolas Cage is back as Benjamin Franklin Gates: treasure hunter extraordinaire. Ben and his dad Patrick (Jon Voight) are pleased as punch to be able to publicly recognize Ben’s great-grandfather as a civilian hero who burned a page of John Wilkes Booth’s diary in order to keep a secret Confederate society from finding a lost city of gold. The publicity surrounding the Gates’ ancestor prompts Mitch Wilkinson (Ed Harris) into coming forward and denouncing the elder Gates as a traitor who conspired with Booth to kill President Lincoln. Wilkinson…Wilkes…is there a connection? We’ll never know because that would send the film off on a different path than its predecessor.
The Cast
The cast is what it is. Cage yells and does a really strange British accent at one point. Kruger has a difficult time wrapping her lips around an American accent. Bartha’s exactly the same as he was in the first film except this time around the whole sidekick shtick has gotten a little old. And Voight, Mirren and Harris (taking over the villain role from National Treasure’s Sean Bean) plug along doing their best to add a little oomph.
To Sum It Up
Things come very, very easily for Gates and crew in National Treasure: Book of Secrets. In fact, some bits fall into place so quickly you have to wonder why no one else has found the lost city of gold before – even without the critical pieces of evidence. Connecting the dots this time around just isn’t as much fun thanks in large part to the recycled nature of the plot and way too many implausible setups.
Rebecca Murray
Hollywood Movies Guide
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