Conspiracy theories, ancient civilizations, government secrets, and ridiculously bad hairdo's. Yep, Nic Cage is back to reprise his role as Benjamin Gates, and this time there's an all-new, very personal treasure hunt in store for the history-lover and his troop. The second installment in the National Treasure series, Book of Secrets sees Ben Gates' family dignity threatened when a black market dealer Mitch Wilkinson shows one of the 18 missing pages of John Wilkes Booth's diary, with Thomas Gates' (Ben's great-great grandfather) name on it, convincing everyone that Thomas was a conspirator in the Lincoln assassination. Ben sets out to prove the innocence of his great-great-grandfather. Of course a one-man show wouldn't cut it so let's bring back Ben's trusted sidekick Riley Poole (Justin Bartha) and Ben's now-separated wife Abigail Chase (Diane Kruger) to even things up a bit. And also throw in Ben's parents played by Jon Voight and Helen Mirren to add some spice. Didn't read that correctly? Yes, I said throw Ben's parents in on a life-threatening journey to God-knows-where just to add some spice. No joke. Hey, Indiana took his old man on a quest for the Holy Grail, so there's no reason for Ben Gates to not do the same, and double it up even! Anyway, National Treasure 2 didn't fare so well with the critics. They complained of the plot being repetitive and slow. I can relate to that in some aspects, but I still don't seem to understand why people make such a big fuss about movies like National Treasure. See, there are movies that were made to be highly-intellectual, and then there were movies that were produced to become a commercial blockbuster success. National Treasure falls under the latter category. You don't go looking for logic in Transformers now, do you? It's not even logical to begin with! The same goes for National Treasure. Despite the fact that it deals with real-world conspiracies and heavily guarded secrets that are believed to be linked to secret societies, it is without a doubt a popcorn commercial flick. There's nothing serious to it. So why bother looking into all the minor details, right? Just sit back, relax, and enjoy the movie while it lasts. Sure, some movies are incredibly bad, but National Treasure doesn't fall under that line. It's fun to say the least. It starts off slow but it eventually picks up after a while so no worries.
There's nothing special about the acting in National Treasure except for the fact that Helen Mirren and Jon Voight always bring a notch of better quality to most movies. I've never been a fan of Nicolas Cage. Yeah, he was great in Con Air and City Of Angels, but then he decided to put himself in stuff like Ghost Rider and Next, both of which completely reeked of rotten vegetables mixed with expired Thousand Island Sauce. And some stale milk. Back to Cage, yes, I don't like the man. But you know what makes things worse? His hairdo. I mean, seriously, why? What's with the lack of sideburns (it's not always a bad thing but in his case it definitely is) and the incredibly awkward haircut? Of all the hairstyles in the entire world, couldn't they have come up with anything other than Nic Cage's ridiculous hairdo? Not only is the man's acting somewhat annoying with his monotonous way of speaking, his hairdo just puts you off entirely. Sheesh!
There really isn't much to say about National Treasure : Book Of Secrets except that it's entertaining and is a fun watch as long as it lasts. I still like the first installment better in terms of storyline and the depth of the characters. In terms of action and adventure, Book Of Secrets has plenty of action / chase scenes; none of which I found intriguing or captivating. It's just a very simple movie that tries to radiate a sense of complexity by integrating controversial secrets and historical conspiracies. It isn't complicating at all, by the way, just fun and worth a peek. Still, I'd say if you haven't watched it yet then it's better that you keep this in store for one of those incredibly boring days when all you need is something light and casual.
Oh, one thing I'd like to point out here is the soundtrack. I like the music composed for Book Of Secrets. In fact, it's too good for the movie. Listen to the music accompanying the credits whenever you get the chance. It sounds befitting of a movie that revolves around an epic journey to new lands in the early 12th century or so...something that would do well with huge ships and adventures at sea. You get the picture. Again, watch Book Of Secrets for the popcorn value of it and nothing more.
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Wrap : National Treasure : Book Of Secrets gets a 2.9 out of 5.0. I liked it, but it isn't anything special and I wouldn't watch it again anytime soon. It's only good the first time around, let's just keep it at that. Plus, did I mention that Nicolas Cage pisses me off? Not all the time, but have you seen Ghost Rider? Ugh.
There's nothing special about the acting in National Treasure except for the fact that Helen Mirren and Jon Voight always bring a notch of better quality to most movies. I've never been a fan of Nicolas Cage. Yeah, he was great in Con Air and City Of Angels, but then he decided to put himself in stuff like Ghost Rider and Next, both of which completely reeked of rotten vegetables mixed with expired Thousand Island Sauce. And some stale milk. Back to Cage, yes, I don't like the man. But you know what makes things worse? His hairdo. I mean, seriously, why? What's with the lack of sideburns (it's not always a bad thing but in his case it definitely is) and the incredibly awkward haircut? Of all the hairstyles in the entire world, couldn't they have come up with anything other than Nic Cage's ridiculous hairdo? Not only is the man's acting somewhat annoying with his monotonous way of speaking, his hairdo just puts you off entirely. Sheesh!
There really isn't much to say about National Treasure : Book Of Secrets except that it's entertaining and is a fun watch as long as it lasts. I still like the first installment better in terms of storyline and the depth of the characters. In terms of action and adventure, Book Of Secrets has plenty of action / chase scenes; none of which I found intriguing or captivating. It's just a very simple movie that tries to radiate a sense of complexity by integrating controversial secrets and historical conspiracies. It isn't complicating at all, by the way, just fun and worth a peek. Still, I'd say if you haven't watched it yet then it's better that you keep this in store for one of those incredibly boring days when all you need is something light and casual.
Oh, one thing I'd like to point out here is the soundtrack. I like the music composed for Book Of Secrets. In fact, it's too good for the movie. Listen to the music accompanying the credits whenever you get the chance. It sounds befitting of a movie that revolves around an epic journey to new lands in the early 12th century or so...something that would do well with huge ships and adventures at sea. You get the picture. Again, watch Book Of Secrets for the popcorn value of it and nothing more.
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Wrap : National Treasure : Book Of Secrets gets a 2.9 out of 5.0. I liked it, but it isn't anything special and I wouldn't watch it again anytime soon. It's only good the first time around, let's just keep it at that. Plus, did I mention that Nicolas Cage pisses me off? Not all the time, but have you seen Ghost Rider? Ugh.
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