- Introduction -
National Treasure Book of Secerets is the follow up to the 2004 film National Treasure. I got a second hand copy of the DVD of the first movie and found it quite enjoyable and when I heard about the follow up being a big success in America and an online friend recommending ... Read review
Join Nicolas Cage on a heart-pounding adventure that will have you on the edge of your ... more
seat in a race to find the Lost City of Gold. Grounded in history, imbued with myth and mystery, Disney's National Treasure 2: Book Of Secrets takes you on a globe-trotting quest full of adrenaline-pumping twists and turns - all leading to the final clue in a mysterious and highly guarded book containing centuries of secrets. But there's only one way to find it - Ben Gates must kidnap the President. Packed with fast-paced action and crackling humor, National Treasure 2: Book Of Secrets is a movie your entire family will want to rediscover again and again.
NATIONAL TREASURE:From Producer Jerry Bruckheimer (Pirates Of The Caribbean Trilogy) And ... more
Director Jon Turteltaub (Phenomenon)Comes The Ultimate Quest For National Treasure. Academy Award Winner Nicolas Cage (Best Actor, Leaving Las Vegas 1995) Stars In This Thrilling Adventure That's More Exciting Than Ever On Disney Blu-Ray Disc.Obsessed Since Childhood With Finding The Legendary Knights Templar Treasure, Benjamin Franklin Gates (Cage)Tries To Decipher Ancient Riddles That Will Lead Him To It. Now, In A Race Against Time, Gates Discovers He MustSteal The Declaration Of Independence To Prevent This Lankmark Document-And A Key Clue To The Mysterious Treasure-From Falling Into The Hands Of A Ruthless Enemy (Sean Bean, The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy)!Hang On Tight And Plunge Headlong Into Heart-Pounding Chases And Explosive Speical Effects Presented In The Jaw-Dropping Clarity Of High Definition With Spectacularly Enhanced Audio Quality. Get Closer To The EdgeOf Your Seat And Experience This High-Stakes Crime Caper As Never Before With Disney Blu-Ray-Magic In High Definition.NATIONAL TREASURE: BOOK OF SECRETSJoin Nicolas Cage on a heart-pounding adventure that will have you on the edge of your seat in a race to find the Lost City of Gold. Grounded in history, imbued with myth and mystery, Disney's National Treasure 2: Book Of Secrets takes you on a globe-trotting quest full of adrenaline-pumping twists and turns - all leading to the final clue in a mysterious and highly guarded book containing centuries of secrets. But there's only one way to find it - Ben Gates must kidnap the President. Packed with fast-paced action and crackling humor, National Treasure 2: Book Of Secrets is EvenMore Rousing In Blu-Ray High Definition.
Join Nicolas Cage on a heart pounding adventure that will have you on the edge of your ... more
seat in a race to find the Lost City of Gold. Grounded in history, imbued with myth and mystery, Disney's National Treasure: Book Of Secrets takes you on a globe-trotting quest full of adrenaline-pumping twists and turns - all leading to the final clue in a mysterious and highly guarded book containing centuries of secrets. But there's only one way to find it - Ben Gates must kidnap the President.Packed with fast-paced action and crackling humour, National Treasure: Book Of Secrets is a movie your entire family will want to rediscover again and again.
Filled with hours of revealing bonus features, this two-disc Gold Collector's Edition DVD ... more
exposes a wealth of secrets behind the most spectacular treasure hunt ever. Join Nicolas Cage on a heart-pounding adventure that will have you on the edge of your seat in a race to find the Lost City of Gold. Grounded in history, imbued with myth and mystery, Disney's National Treasure: Book Of Secrets takes you on a globe-trotting quest full of adrenaline-pumping twists and turns - all leading to the final clue in a mysterious and highly guarded book containing centuries of secrets. But there's only one way to find it - Ben Gates must kidnap the President. Packed with fast-paced action and crackling humour, this Gold Collector's Edition has even more to rediscover again and again.
Production Year: 2002 - Action/Adventure - Director: Vincenzo Natali - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring:Lucy Liu, David Hewlett, Anne Marie Scheffler, Joseph Scoren, Matthew Sharp, Jeremy Northam
Action/Adventure - Director: Gore Verbinski - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring:Bill Nighy, Keira Knightley, Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Orlando Bloom, Chow Yun-Fat
Production Year: 1964 - Action/Adventure - Director: Cyril Endfield - Original Language: English - Classification: Parental Guidance - Starring:Stanley Baker, Jack Hawkins, Ulla Jacobsson, James Booth, Michael Caine, Nigel Green
Advantages: Good escapism, quite action packed, one for conspiracy theorists! Disadvantages: Very American!, story is pretty far stretched and confusing (though still quite enjoyable)
...Introduction -
National Treasure Book of Secerets is the follow up to the 2004 film National Treasure. I got a second hand copy of the DVD of the first movie and found it quite enjoyable and when I heard about the follow up being a big success in America and an online friend recommending it (she said that it had more action and featured scenes in London), I decided I definitely wanted to see it at the cinema. As an early birthday present, ... ...cast) -
National Treasure Book of Secrets starts with Ben Gates (played by Nicolas Cage) giving a story at a lecture, about an old relative back in the 1800s who he claims gave his life to deter some from attempting to reignite the American Civil War and go against President Lincoln (from what I remember, roughly!). However, someone approaches him with what he believes is a piece of paper from a diary from that time, that proves that ... more
- Introduction -
National Treasure Book of Secerets is the follow up to the 2004 film National Treasure. I got a second hand copy of the DVD of the first movie and found it quite enjoyable and when I heard about the follow up being a big success in America and an online friend recommending it (she said that it had more action and featured scenes in London), I decided I definitely wanted to see it at the cinema. As an early birthday present, having seen the trailer for this movie when we all went to see I Am Legend at New Years, my parents decided to book tickets for us all to go see it today and I recently got back from having seen it, so here's what its all about and what I think.
- Main Credits (non-actors, which are mentioned further on in the review) - Source:- IMDB (see:- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0465234/fullcredits)
Director - Jon Turteltaub Writers - Mariannae and Cormac Wibberley, Gregory Poirier, Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio Producers - Jerry Bruckheimer and Jon Turteltaub Associate Producer - Pat Sandston Executive Producers - Oren Aviv, Chad Oman, Charles Segars, Mike Stenson, Barry H. Waldman Line Producers - John Bernard (line producer: Paris), Selwyn Roberts (line producer: London) Cinematography - Amir M. Mokri and John Schwartzman
- Story (incl. main acting cast) -
National Treasure Book of Secrets starts with Ben Gates (played by Nicolas Cage) giving a story at a lecture, about an old relative back in the 1800s who he claims gave his life to deter some from attempting to reignite the American Civil War and go against President Lincoln (from what I remember, roughly!). However, someone approaches him with what he believes is a piece of paper from a diary from that time, that proves that instead of helping his country in giving his life, his relative was instead a co-conspirator that had planned to commit the heinous crimes.
Ben finds it hard to believe and studies this piece of paper, which leads him on another treasure hunt, as he discovers clues that point towards the whereabouts of the lost city of Gold, Cebolla. Though managing to find the items which gives him the clues and ultimately the whereabouts of this lost city proves pretty hard work, involving having to find access to the Queens quarter in Buckingham Palace and the President of the United States' desk in the Oval Office (in the White House, of course). He doesn't embark on this treasure hunt on his own, of course, so its the return of his dad (played by Jon Voight) and his techno wizard friend Riley Poole (played by Justin Bartha) and his partner Aibgial Chase (played by Diane Kruger). Joining him towards the end of the movie is Dame Helen Mirren, who plays his mother, Professor Emily Appleton. The bad guy is Mitch Wilkinson, played by Ed Harris and Harvey Keitel makes an appearance as Agent Sadusky.
- Genre -
This is very much a modern action/adventure movie with fantasy elements, in terms of the rather complicated story and its also good as an entertaining movie for all the family too.
- Thoughts/Opinions/Extra Information -
I thought this was quite a good bit of escapism, if you've seen the first movie you'll know what to expect in terms of the story, the last one was quite similar.
As a good bit of family entertainment, its pretty good, its not too offensive with little violence or bad language but plenty of decent action scenes, it should entertain kids (though the whole long drawn out historical story may seem a bit boring to some) and adults alike, as there is some witty and funny dialogue present (particularly between Ben's parents!).
Towards the end, it is quite Indiana Jones-esque, though I also think that throughout it is quite James Bond-ish, with plenty of exciting scenes, car chases, undercover activity and perilous situations coming up to keep the viewer occupied. This is definitely not an exercise in realism, this movie and is very much one for conspiracy theorists I would say! Yes the story is a bit fantastical, being a bit drawn out and some aspects your left thinking ok why is that the case? but I suppose that doesn't matter too much, your just there for the ride really to see where the clues lead and what they discover next, so I feel I can somewhat let it off the hook a bit, I mean if you know anything much about these movies then you shouldn't expect the story to be entirely stooped in realism!
Ben is shown as being (intentionally as needed for other reasons in this part of the film, I believe) rather obnoxious about the British when he starts up an argument in Buckingham Palace. I couldn't help but find it hard to shrug it off the fact that after that it did seem somewhat over arrogant, there is quite a heavily American feel to the movie, for obvious reasons I guess! there are the somewhat cheesy parts, of course the main character will go on about having to fight to clear his relatives name and to regain his countries pride or whatever. He is a fairly smug character in these films who pretty much always happens to know the answer to things and how to get what he wants and also I notice in films like this that the techno wizard who helps out, in this case Riley, always happens to get coverage (like wi-fi etc.) to be able to carry out the techno wizadry when their in some rather unlikely situations, if you think too much you could well doubt this but its not really so much about that, like I say this film is really more of a 'leave your brain at the door and just sit and enjoy' affair and it does deliver the action and entertainment pretty well, once it gets started. The special effects and landscapes, when shown, are pretty good and I thought that it looked particularly good on the big screen.
I was interested to see how Helen Mirren fit in to a movie like this and was pleasantly surprised with her role too. Okay it was hardly Oscar worthy stuff but its always nice to see British actors/actresses appear in such big Hollywood movies and she played her role pretty well, I thought.
Its also worth noting that I think its good that the movie isn't entirely set in America, as I already mentioned it is set in London, at Buckingham palace at one point and there's also a scene in Paris too (if but a pretty brief one).
I was glad to have seen it at the cinema and felt it was worth a watch, my parents also commented afterwards that they enjoyed it more than they thought they might, so thats good to know too.
- Certificate -
National Treasure Book of Secrets is rated PG in the UK. I didn't think it featured much at all i terms of any kind of offensive material, the PG rating is mainly due to mild action violence and some scenes of peril, I'd say. There is no real bad language or sex scenes present.
- Official Website -
The official British website can be found here:- http://trailofsecrets.co.uk/
Here you'll find info. on the movie, some trailers, a competition and game and more.
There's also this Disney UK site for it:- http://www2.disney.co.uk/DisneyMovies/nationaltreasure2/
Here you'll find more info. on the movie, the characters in the movie, the movie trailers, some downloads and more games.
- Conclusions -
This is an entertaining family movie that, while featuring some arrogance that could be a bit annoying and a less than entirely believable story, is still pretty good for the action content it has. It should entertain slightly older kids (like maybe those 9+) and adults can enjoy it too for some witty dialogue and the 'interesting' take on US history, I guess. The puzzle is, can you make it all make sense? where are the clues?! lol!
Ok so really it isn't perfect but I couldn't help but feel like even though thats the case, it is still a decent movie for what it is, a good bit of entertainment that pretty much the whole family can sit and watch without being too offended. That is, unless you find very American movies with some degree of arrogance present, offensive, in which case you may not be entirely keen! but maybe im being a little harsh there, I don't know, thats how I feel. To me it was worth seeing, particularly on the big screen, for the action scenes and for the ending.
Flawed but still basically decent family entertainment, which I feel there sometimes isn't enough of, something that kids and adults can enjoy alike, I feel I have to rate it for that and as we all enjoyed it, I'm giving it a 4 star rating. If you like the sound of it, definitely check it out, just don't expect a lesson on realism, instead sit back and enjoy the ride! (and have a laugh seeing Helen Mirren and Jon Voights characters seeing each other for the first time in years!).
Advantages: Kids will enjoy being able to follow the clues. Disadvantages: Adults may feel shortchanged by the poor production values and spoon-feeding script.
...There's still room for casual national stereotypes - the French are (quelle surprise!) rude and the British are uptight. But it's okay because Ben Gates' American charm and/or low-down cunning will see him through. The characterisation is paper-thin. Ben Gates is too smart so he feels smug and the fact that he knows the answers to every question and clue posed renders the rest of his team redundant. His relationship with Abigail is a sop to cinematic ... ...they've split up since the first film. Ben's mother is introduced only to justify the presence of his father throughout most of the movie. Meanwhile his sidekick Riley Poole has too little to do. Mitch Wilkinson is a toothless villain because he isn't willing to go far enough to achieve his goal and gives up any advantage he might have too easily. His henchmen are faceless goons and any new peripheral characters are anaemic. The dialogue is awful ...
afy9mab 25.02.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of National Treasure - Book Of Secrets (DVD)
Advantages: Fun, enjoyable and glossy Disadvantages: Thin plot and a little too glib
National Treasure - Book of Secrets
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The year is 1865 and two shifty looking characters enter a bar looking for Thomas Gates. They have an encrypted message hidden in a diary and Gates is just the man to crack it. As he begins to work through the code one of the men slips away, his name is John Wilkes Booth and he's off to assassinate Abraham Lincoln.
Realising that the men are confederate sympathisers and having determined ... ...Croft films but then the National Treasure franchise is very US-centric, not that this is particularly a problem and the familiarity of the locations bring their own rewards.
One of the drawbacks of the pace of the film is that you never get the chance of having a crack at the clues yourself before they are solved and the action moves on. Not that you'd have much chance of solving them as they are very obscure and play fast and loose with the truth ...
brereton66 30.04.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of National Treasure - Book Of Secrets (DVD)
Advantages: Good Acting, Helen Mirren Disadvantages: No where near as good as the first
After loving the first National treasure I was really looking forward to seeing this sequel, unfortunately both me and hubby were both left very disappointed. The film again stars Nicholas Cage who is playing the role of Benjamin Franklin Gates who is still a treasure hunter and following on from the end of the first film he has now split up from his girlfriend and is living with his Dad. He is giving a presentation which involves his talking about ... ...man stands up and has proof that Benjamin’s great great Grandfather was in fact involved in the assassination plot and not one of the men who tried to save him. Benjamin and his Father try to investigate this claim and with the help of their old friend who helped find the treasure in the first film and reluctantly agreeing to let his ex-girlfriend help they set about discovering the truth and also along the way finding the book of treasures. Benjamin ...
sewbizzie 13.04.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of National Treasure - Book Of Secrets (DVD)
Advantages: Great adventure Disadvantages: Unbelievability factor, but this is kind of the point
The 2004 film National Treasure took about $350 million at the box office worldwide. This prompted producer Jerry Bruckheimer to give the go ahead for a sequel to be made, and last year saw the release of National Treasure 2: The Book of Secrets. The film took just over a month to outgross the 2004 film, and is every bit as entertaining an action film as the first, if a little far fetched.
The Plot
Not long after the end of the Civil War in America, ... ...cracks, then look no further. National Treasure 2: The Book of Secrets is a rollercoaster action adventure film with fast paced location changing scenery. The camera work and special effects are brilliantly done, and the actors are all incorporated into this as well.
In terms of settings, director Jon Turteltaub has gone to town, filming in Buckingham Palace, the Library of Congress, Mount Rushmore and the centre of Paris. Throw in some car chases ...
pmcds 22.06.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of National Treasure - Book Of Secrets (DVD)
Advantages: Interesting, good atmosphere. Disadvantages: Drags at the start.
Director: Jon Turteltaub
Screenplay: Marianne Wibberley & Cormac Wibberley
Genre: Action - Adventure - Thriller - Mystery Country: USA
Certification: PG
Language: English
Released: 2nd June, 2008 (DVD)
MAIN CAST:
Nicolas Cage (Ben Gates) Justin Bartha (Riley Poole) Diane Kruger (Abigail Chase) Jon Voight (Patrick Gates)
When a partially destroyed document surfaces that alludes to the possibility that Ben Gates' great-grandfather might have ... ...sets out to prove his innocence by finding the Lost City of Gold (Cibola).
'National Treasure: Book of Secrets' is the second movie in the series, that will, eventually, lead to a third. Unfortunately, this second instalment isn't as engrossing as the first. The first 30 - 40 minutes are extremely long and tedious, in fact, I'd go so far as to say that they're downright boring. However, once you get past what appears to be a real drag of a movie, ...
GoFigure 24.06.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of National Treasure - Book Of Secrets (DVD)
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Advantages: Great adventure Disadvantages: Unbelievability factor, but this is kind of the point
, and well worth the watch.
NationalTreasure 2: The Book of Secrets is available from amazon.co.uk for around the £5 mark. It's entertaining for sure, and worth a buy at some point. The DVD I have contains no extras.
I'm going to give this 4 stars out of 5. It kept me entertained for the near two hours of its length, and even some of the most cinematic masterpieces don't do that. Thumbs up Bruckheimer!
Thanks for reading. ...
Advantages: Action-packed second half relives the original fun Disadvantages: Dire first half with every sequel cliche going
There are three types of sequel in the world, it seems to me: those rare few that improve upon the original; those that are pretty much just the original all over; and the sad majority that take a successful movie and try to make it BIGGER! BETTER! FASTER!... and largely just serve to magnify all the flaws of the first outing. NationalTreasure: Book of Secrets manages to fall wholeheartedly into the final category. Dang!
If you've seen the original NT movie then you know completely what to expect here: history buff Ben Gates (did he have a real job before becoming a treasure hunter? I can't recall!) stumbles across some fantastical secret, and is soon jetting around the world, defiling national 'treasures', and just being a bit of a brainiac Indiana Jones wannabe. Silly silly silly, but heck - it was fairly fun! In the first ...
Advantages: Good action, Nice story, Good Cast Disadvantages: Not impressive, Dragged on abit, Got bored
~ Book Of Secrets ~
Last night after lighting the fire to keep warm form all this snow, I had NationalTreasure 2 through from love film and decided to take a watch. I didn't bother seeing this when it first came out as it didn't really look particularly great. Having seeing the first and thinking it was ok I thought I might as well. I was really glad I had chosen to wait until this had come out on DVD as it didn't look worth paying a stupid price to go to the cinema.
~ INFO ~
Director- Jon Turteltaub
Jon who also directed the first film is not very well known and has directed mainly television programmes. Some of his other films include- The Kids (2000), Instinct (1999) and Cool Runnings (1993).
Writers- Marianne and Cormac Wibberley
Music by- Trevor Rabin
Release date- 8 Feb 2008 (UK)
Runtime- 124 Mins ...
Nicholas Cage returns to play Ben Gates in this sequel to the 2004 action hit NATIONAL TREASURE. This time, Gates and his team solve a mystery that stretches from the assassination of Abraham Lincoln to the contemporary streets of Washington, DC.
Release details
DVD Region
DVD
Studio(s)
WALT DISNEY STUDIOS HOME ENTERTAINM; TECHNICOLOR DISTRIBUTION SERVICES
Languages
Main Language
English
Technical information
Special Features
Audio commentary, Deleted scenes, 'The Treasure Reel' outtakes and bloopers, 'Secrets Of A Sequel' interviews with cast and crew, Behind the scenes featurettes
National Treasure: Book of Secrets manages to surpass the first one for pure movie fun and some decent heart-pounding action (Maxim, 29/04/2008)
DVD Description
Treasure hunter Ben Gates (Nicolas Cage) embarks on a new adventure in director Jon Turtletaub's sequel to NATIONAL TREASURE. Ben and his father, Patrick (Jon Voight), take great pride in their ancestors and their family's devotion to the United States. When Mitch Wilkinson (Ed Harris) produces a page from the diary of Lincoln assassin John Wilkes Booth allegedly linking Ben's great-great grandfather to the plot, Ben and Patrick set out on a path to clear their family's name. Ben also believes that the diary page contains hints to the whereabouts of a treasure map leading to an ancient city made of gold, and soon the hunt is on. Tech expert Riley Poole (Justin Bartha) and Ben's now ex-girlfriend Abigail Chase (Diane Kruger) join the Gates in their quest, which takes them from Washington, DC, to Paris, London and the Black Hills of South Dakota. It's true that the storyline and the actions of Gates and his team--which include breaking into the Queen's study at Buckingham Palace, sneaking into the Oval Office, and kidnapping the President of the United States--are completely unbelievable. But with a storyline built on true, interesting trivia and great locations, this film is an amusing, family-friendly romp. Cage has some great moments as Gates-- loyal, patriotic, fair to a fault, and very funny as he goads on Buckingham Palace security. Harris plays Wilkinson with just the right air of mystery and menace: is he after fortune, or does he just want to leave his own mark in history? Helen Mirren fits the bill as Ben's mother and Patrick's estranged ex-wife, Emily, a scholar and historian in her own right.
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