Run Time: 2 hr. 4 min.
Rating: PG – Strong Language,
nudity, drug usage, some violence
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Diane
Kruger, Jon Voight, Justin Bartha, Ed Harris, Helen Mirren, Harvey Keitel,
Bruce Greenwood
Director: Jon Turtletaub
Genre: Adventure, Family, Suspense,
Caper
There is a lot one can learn from Jon Turtletaub’s sequel to
the surprise hit of 2003.
No I’m not speaking about brief historical lessons.
After seeing National Treasure:
Book of Secrets, I came away with new
relationship knowledge. Go figure.
For instance if you and your
significant other are having problems, and perhaps one of you has moved out of
your multi-million dollar mansion…
Go on a treasure hunt.
Or
If you haven’t spoken to your
wife, and mother of your famous son, for 32 years…
Go on a treasure hunt.
If your family has been defamed
and has estranged you…let’s say it all together.
Go on a treasure hunt.
It will make it all better.
Those are about the only lessons
to be gained from this brainless popcorn flick about globetrotting brains on a
treasure hunt.
How National Treasure became a hit is still mind-boggling to me. It certainly
was watchable, but I found it a tad boring…even with all the action. My
11-year-old loves it. I asked her why? She could only say she did. Well she
wasn’t alone. National Treasure went on
to gross over 300 million worldwide.
National Treasure: Book of
Secrets continues the trend of being the
poor man’s Raiders of the Lost Ark. We
meet Ben Franklin Gates (Cage) when he is giving a lecture on his grandfather’s
role in the Lincoln cabinet. “Not so fast so,” says Oscar Winner Ed Harris, who
plays Mitch Wilkinson. Mitch claims that he has a page of John Wilkes Booth’s
diary that proves Gates’ great great grandpappy was the orchestrator of
Lincoln’s assassination.
Ben, along with his dad (John
Voight), estranged girlfriend Abigail (Kruger) and former assistant, turned
unsuccessful author; Riley (Justin Bartha) set out to prove it’s a fake. The
mystery takes them from the third (I didn’t know there were three) Statue of
Liberty in Paris to Buckingham Palace to the White House itself. In between,
there are the pre-requisite car chases, clobbering of Jon Voight and of course,
villain Harris scowling.
Their research leads Ben and co.
to a book that is for Presidents’ eyes only. So how does Ben decide he’s going
to get a gander? Why kidnap the president of course. Eventually the clues lead Ben and co. along with evil Mitch
to Mount Rushmore, which may or may not hide the biggest treasure in American
history.
As in the first one, NTBOS mixes historical fact with a whole heap of fiction and
then presents its characters in one preposterous situation after another. I’m
certainly not against the premise, but again something is missing from this
popcorn flick for me. I can’t accuse it of running on autopilot. Cage genuinely
looks like he’s having a good time, as does Bartha. Kruger is pretty to look
at, but still comes across pretty cold as well.
I think the fault lies in
Turtletaub’s direction. The pacing seems off and the film feels like it could
be 20 minutes shorter. The ending drags. And I felt Harris wasn’t convincing as
a baddie this time. There was certainly more tension between Cage and Harris
when they faced off against each other in Michael Bay’s The Rock. Cage and Kruger seem to lack chemistry as well. The
reason they broke up came across convoluted. It couldn’t have been that serious
if all it took was an adventure to bring them back together.
One thing to note is Ben’s mother’s
(Helen Mirren) breasts. Have to admit when she was stuck in a cave with Voight
and the two of them tumbled to the ground, I found myself thinking, “Wow for an
older woman she has great boobs.” My wife would probably say it’s the bra.
However as outstanding as her
breasts are, it’s not enough to recommend this National Treasure…unless you are having trouble with your spouse. If you
are…
Go on a treasure hunt.
Two Ball Point Pens.