The Nappy Cat Chronicles

National Treasure: Book of Secrets stars Nicholas Cage as Ben Gates, Justin Bartha as Riley Poole (Ben Gates’ sidekick), Diane Kruger as Abigail Chase (Ben Gates’ sidekick and romantic interest), Jon Voight as Patrick Gates (Ben Gates’ father), Helen Mirren as Emily Appleton (Ben Gates’ mother), Ed Harris as Mitch Wilkinson (Ben Gates’ antagonist), and Bruce Greenwood as the President of the United States. Also, Harvey Keitel returns as FBI Agent Sadusky.

***** Warning: Major Spoilers Ahead *****

At the beginning of the movie, the Gates learn that Patrick Gates’ grandfather may have been involved in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Ben Gates immediately swears to clear his great-grandfather’s name. Incidentally, this means finding the lost City of Gold. The mysterious Wilkinson is also on the hunt for the lost city and it’s immediately clear that he’s using Ben to further his quest.

Unlike the first, the puzzles and clues that lead the crew to the lost city are secondary to the plot. National Treasure: Book of Secrets is more action adventure and less riddle solving. Unfortunately, it’s not good even the good sort of Indiana Jones style action adventure. It seems as though they filmed a series of disparate scenes at majestic locations and pieced them together in a style reminiscent of Garden State and Ocean’s 12.

The actors moved from location to location with such ease that there was no sense of urgency. The first National Treasure makes you believe that there was something big at stake. The second does not. As such, I found myself not caring. Even when the luck and life challenged Riley Poole did or said something comedic, I didn’t laugh. Comedy of that sort needs tension to cut through and there was no tension.

Eventually, the crew finds the City of Gold and Wilkinson dies saving everyone else in a dramatic scene. I am apathetic regarding Wilkinson’s death. Although you learn that the conspirators’ diary had been in his family for generations, you never learn what drives him to take the extraordinary measures of kidnapping and threatening to kill the Gates family. This makes Wilkinson’s sacrifice less redeeming than it should be.

I give National Treasure: Book of Secrets a 2 out of 5. Ultimately, the movie’s big budget created more than a few well choreographed and expensive scenes. However, it created neither the fun nor entertainment of the toned down and “roughing it” aspects of the first.