Film Review - National Treasure: Book Of Secrets

Feb 8 2008 Liverpool Daily Post

National Treasure: Book Of Secrets
Cert. PG, 124 mins
Stars: Nicolas Cage, Justin Bartha, Diane Kruger, Jon Voight, Helen Mirren, Ed Harris, Harvey Keitel, Bruce Greenwood
Directed by Jon Turteltaub

THE original National Treasure movie shamelessly plundered Dan Brown’s global bestseller The Da Vinci Code. What the film lacked in logic, it made up in breathlessly paced action sequences and old- fashioned fun, recalling the escapades of Indiana Jones, albeit without the wit.

For the sequel, director John Turteltaub reunites with the stars of the original, plus a couple of new faces, for an even more absurd tale of ancient brotherhoods and hidden ciphers.

Treasure seeker Benjamin Franklin Gates (Nicolas Cage) is stunned when a stranger interrupts one of his lectures to flaunt evidence linking one of Ben’s ancestors to the assassination of President Lincoln.

Determined to clear the family name, Ben joins forces with his university professor father, Patrick (Jon Voight), techno-wizard assistant Riley and estranged girlfriend, National Archives conservator Abigail Chase (Diane Kruger), to unravel the intrigue.

National Treasure: Book Of Secrets crushes common sense under a stampede of slickly orchestrated set pieces and a spectacular, waterlogged finale at Mount Rushmore sums up the film perfectly: over-blown, noisy and dumb.