REVIEW REWIND: National Treasure: Book Of Secrets (2007)
And so we begin a new watch list for Disney+ staring with National Treasure: Book of Secrets. I enjoyed the first movie so much that I wanted to watch the second one as soon as possible. And, thankfully, I found it just as enjoyable.
The film has Ben Gates (Nicholas Cage) out to find Cibola, the lost city of gold, that will apparently clear his great great grandfather's name. A black market dealer Mitch Wilkinson (Ed Harris) has accused his ancestor of being part of the conspiracy to assassinate Abraham Lincoln. But, he did this to get Ben to find Cibola and then take credit for it.
Accompanied by his cohorts Abigail Chase (Diane Kruger) and Riley Poole (Justin Bartha) as well as father Patrick (John Voight) and mother Emily (Helen Mirren), Ben makes his way around the world in search of clues that eventually lead them to Mount Rushmore and the lost city of gold!
Cage again is true to form as playing Nicholas Cage playing Ben Gates. He brings his smarmy charm into everything he does which people either like or don't like. I happen to be the former. It was a pleasure to see Kruger, Bartha and Voight again, but it is the addition of the great Helen Mirren that really brings everything together. Harris has this level of intrigue to him. On one hand, he looks like somebody you can trust and, on the other, he looks like a serial killer. So, he always makes a great villain.
The treasure hunt was fun again. I especially like how they had to look at the twin Resolute desks at Buckingham Palace and the White House. The big thing that bothered me is why did the Olmecs build the City of Gold all the way north in South Dakota? I suppose it could have been that some people migrated north, but it seems implausible. But, then again, we're also able to believe that the gang were able to break into Buckingham Palace and the White House and then kidnap the President of the United States and get off completely scott free. So, there's a lot of suspension of disbelief all across the board.
Like the first movie, this is one of those popcorn eating with a large soda on a lazy Sunday kind of movies. It's not Citizen Kane, but the kind of movie that you just can't get enough of. It might be more nonsensical than the first movie, but just as fun.