National Treasure: Book of Secretsrated PG for sequences of action and violence
Filmmaking: 3 out of 5 stars
Moral Rating: 31/2 out of 5 stars
Overall: 3 out of 5 stars
The previews for the new National Treasure movie looked awesome! I had been waiting eagerly for Book of Secrets ever since I heard that there was going to be a sequel to the first National Treasure. Unfortunately, lightning doesn't strike twice, and that is definitely the case with Disney's latest.
The story to Book of Secrets could have been cool. It had all the cool sequences of hidden rooms and trapdoors, it had the puzzle solving, it had the outrageous- couldn't happen- American conspiracies, BUT it used them far too often. What made the first National Treasure so much fun to watch was Riley (Justin Bartha) and Ben (Nicolas Cage) plot and execute an elaborate operation to retrieve something national security. In Book of Secrets they still perform elaborate hijincks, but somewhere along the way, director Jon Turtletaub must have forgotten that we liked them because of how complicated they were- not because they were breaking into a federal building.
This is the general feel of the movie. Whether it is the White House, Buckingham Palace, Mount Rushmore or Mount Vernon, it felt as if the heists were after thoughts. Sure we want to see the treasure, but that doesn't excuse making breaking into the Queen's study look like tea and cookies! The plot was also a bit weird, even for National Treasure, making some rather absurd suggestions. Yes this is a movie, but we still want it to be somewhat believable.
The acting in Book of Secrets was very good. The returning cast is awesome ( Jon Voight, Justin Bartha, Nicolas Cage..) as are the newcomers. Ed Harris is awesome as the new baddie, as is Academy Award winner Helen Mirren, who played Ben Gates' mother Emily Appleton.
Morally, this film backslid from National Treasure 1. While both had no language, Book of Secrets actually had quite a bit of controversial adult content that really disappointed me. In the beginning, it is established that Ben was kicked out of the house by his girlfriend Abigail. This fact is random and matter of fact, and nothing is presented as being wrong about them living together outside of marriage. In the end, instead of getting the girl like in National Treasure, Ben is asked to move back in, and the audience is supposed to applaud this? Similarly, it is implied that Ben was born out of wedlock, and his parents might never have been married. "Bad tequila" is blamed for this in a few offhanded remarks.
Overall, this film was quite a letdown because of the low quality of the story and the moral problems, HOWEVER, this is Disney, so there is little else objectionable about Book of Secrets. The characters are a lot of fun, the humor is good, and it still is cool to watch Riley and Ben do their thing. Disney just needs to understand that we don't want to watch movies that fuzz over the moral line ESPECIALLY with children.
My verdict...see it. It makes a good movie to tide you over until Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull lands in May 08.
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