National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets

When the first preview for this film came out, I was very excited. I have a lot of fun watching the original and I welcomed a sequel with open arms. “National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets” was enjoyable but it had more story imperfections than the first film. In particular, the major conflict of the film ends up being a lie or deception that the villain himself reveals. That revelation at the end of the movie was unsatisfying in this case. I have seen much worse sequels though.

The use of the missing Booth diary pages around which to create a story was smart but the film uses many other conspiracy theories, which taint it. The movie is less fun for me as a result. The idea that Mount Rushmore was a cover up for example leaves a bad taste in my mouth. The original film had no such bad taste in that it portrayed the founding fathers in a good light. This movie portrays other leaders of the United States as negative unfortunately. Another reason why this movie doesn’t perfectly work is that our characters are all experiencing hard times at the start. Ben and Abigail are split up, Ben and Patrick have to deal with the Lincoln conspiracy and Riley is going bankrupt. Things were going so well for all of them at the end of the last movie. You can’t portray things coming apart that much because it is quite depressing. Yet another problem I have with “National Treasure 2” is that we visit many famous, historical places from Buckingham Palace to the White House in a convenient fashion. The locations of the clues in the first film, maybe with the exception of Independence Hall, are not as recognizable worldwide as the locations we see in the sequel. It seems too unlikely to me that you would go from Buckingham to the White House on the treasure hunt. As Riley mentions, “the axiom of treasure hunting” is almost always part of this genre. The first film had a villain, Ian, who was not only smart and well equipped but he also looked the part of the antagonist. Another entertaining part about the conflict between Ben and Ian on the original film is that they were once colleagues. Ed Harris is a good actor but the character of Wilkinson isn’t as entertaining or menacing as Sean Bean was as Ian. The initial scenes with Sadusky tell us that there is something suspicious about Wilkinson. The scene with Dr. Nichols and Wilkinson together privately support Sadusky’s doubts. Once the Cibola is found, Wilkinson comes clean by revealing that Thomas Gates was not the mastermind behind the Lincoln assassination. Wilkinson fabricated this lie so as to find the city of gold with the help of the Gates family and their friends. The fact that Wilkinson himself confesses is the worst part of this film. What was Wilkinson expecting to gain from Ben by telling him the truth and being “sorry”? Ben, Riley & the others were used and their lives were endangered because of Wilkinson’s obsession. Was Wilkinson expecting a peaceful understanding after his revelation? It would have been better story-wise for anyone but Wilkinson to reveal the truth that Thomas Gates was not the architect. Also, Wilkinson did not deserve death but rather imprisonment for his actions. His death makes him into a hero of sorts and we were not led throughout the film to accept this by the end. As a final note of negative criticism, I also did not fully except the repaired relationship between Ben and Abigail. For example, why did Abigail suddenly show up in London wanting to help? I am glad that the two characters ended up together but it was not genuinely planned out.

Despite my dislikes about “National Treasure 2”, the film was still enjoyable. It had good story moments and a good cast. The opening sequence portraying the Lincoln assassination was well done. I love the cross dissolve from the Jerry Bruckheimer Films logo to the opening shot. Another notable part of the prologue was the special effects to replicate Lincoln’s face. The movie establishes Ben setting out on a mission to clear his family name but it is mostly to help his dad. Patrick is very affected by the revelation that his great-grandfather Thomas planned the Lincoln assassination. It ends up being an international quest and despite its aforementioned farfetchedness, it is still an entertaining road trip like unto the first film. The fight scene between Ben and Abigail in Buckingham Palace was pretty funny. I also like moment where they get into the service elevator. Nicolas Cage was very funny there. Riley pulls off a great exit strategy from Buckingham Palace to end that scene off. In the first film, Ben ends up repairing his relationship with his father as he hunts for the templar treasure. In “National Treasure 2”, Patrick in turn now has to repair the relationship with his ex-wife. This helps maintain a similarity between the two films. Many people might overlook the back-story of how Ben got the map of Mount Vernon but it is cleverly derived from the story of first film. The map came from Charlotte, a slave that worked at Mount Vernon. Obviously, Ben’s family obtained the map in hopes that it may lead to the templar treasure. I kind of enjoy how the president takes Ben to go on a little treasure hunt but I would have enjoyed even more the reaction of the truck driver to seeing the president alone on the road. If the preview hadn’t spoiled Ben’s practical joke when he “surrenders [his] hand”, it would have been much funnier. I also kind of like during the climax how Patrick & Emily find the easy, fun and romantic way to the treasure. The character of Riley is just as great as in the first film. I like when he and Abigail are leaving the Library of Congress because he is a terrible liar. Other great moments of his include his cawing at the lake while everyone else is over talking and when he introduces himself to Emily at the end of the adventure. Also, while our characters are on the balancing platform, Riley cuts to the chase saying that he can do the math also. He knows that he is going to be left behind but then he humorously imitates the others trying to talk him out of it. That moment is well written and performed by Justin Bartha. For resolution purposes, the President keeps his word after the discovery of the city of gold and that was needed. All the returning cast members did great and I enjoyed seeing Helen Mirren as Ben’s mom and Canadian Bruce Greenwood as the President of the United States.

If it had not been for Wilkinson’s confession at the end of the movie and other little imperfections, I would have bought “National Treasure 2”. It had its fun and entertaining moments. The National Treasure franchise would have been better however in my opinion had it been just the original film but maybe a third film can help save face as was the case with the “Transformers” trilogy. Speaking of that, what is on Page 47? Wouldn’t the president already have seen that page by the way? I guess that the hiding place of the book existed before his administration. I see the only reason for the existence of this plot point was to set up a third film that is apparently now in development.

3.5 stars