NATIONAL TREASURE 2: BOOK OF SECRETS

Directed by: Jon Turteltaub Written by: Marianne Wibberley, Cormac Wibberley, Gregory Poirier (story), Ted Elliott (story), Terry Rossio (story) Based on the characters created by Jim Kouf, Oren Aviv, Oren Aviv Starring: Nicolas Cage, Diane Kruger, Justin Bartha, Jon Voight, Helen Mirren, Ed Harris, Harvey Keitel, Bruce Greenwood, Ty Burell, Michael Maize, Timothy V. Murphy, Distributed by Walt Disney Pictures Available at Amazon for $22.99 RIGHT NOW. Available at Play.com for £11.99 from May 19th 2008! Review by Ray DeRousse

rating: 3.5

rating: 4

The first NATIONAL TREASURE adventure was a perfectly-timed piece of well-constructed fluff. Deftly mixing various conspiracy theories with panache and more than a few knowing winks, the film grabbed audiences with a nifty central premise: what if there was a clue to a hidden treasure written on the back of the heavily-guarded Declaration of Independence? The film subsequently found its own treasure at the box office. Now we have the inevitable sequel. THE FILMNATIONAL TREASURE 2: BOOK OF SECRETS picks up a year or two after the events of the the first film. Both of our heroes are in dire straights; Ben Gates (NICOLAS CAGE) has become estranged to his love from the last film, the beautiful Abigail Chase (DIANE KRUGER), while Riley Poole (JUSTIN BARTHA) suffers the failure of his new book. However, evidence has come to light that will clear the name of Gates' ancestor, wrongly accused of conspiring to kill President Lincoln so many years earlier. Before you can say "ill-fitting hairpiece," Gates and crew - accompanied by his father (JON VOIGHT) and his mother (HELEN MIRREN) - are hot on the trail of clues that will lead to a hidden city of gold. Unfortunately, their path leads them to the heavily-guarded President's book of secrets, as well as the sights of another, less-scrupulous treasure hunter (ED HARRIS). It's amazing that this film works at all. The constant quick cutting, the Bay-like camera dollies, and the da-da-dum music make this ripe for hysterical laughter, yet somehow it gels. Part of the credit goes to the cast; they are clearly having a blast, and the looseness of their performances go a long way to selling the incredible premise. And what a premise! The catchy, irresistible plot hook of the first film is topped by this film's central idea: that the President of the United States has a book into which every successive President adds classified information that only Presidents can know about. In this book lie the answers to some of modern history's greatest mysteries - AREA 51, the Kennedy assassination, the Apollo 13 mission, the price of gasoline, etc. No, they don't tell us whether George Bush's entry was written in crayon. Once again, the gang is confronted by trap doors, puzzle-box desks, invisible maps, and treasure-hiding caves. Tumbler-locked rock walls slide apart with the greatest of ease. Clues fall together as if destiny herself was searching for the city of gold. It's all very. very silly ... but just entertaining enough to make you forget the death of your brain cells. Cage looks like some sort of reverse-transvestite at this point, and I swear that they need to spend a significant amount of the budget for NATIONAL TREASURE 3 on a new fucking hairpiece. There is a water sequence here during which Cage gets soaked, and I swear all I remember looking at is the weird line created by his fake hair. Other than that, Cage gives a fun performance here despite the lazy writing of his character. I mean, is Ben Gates God-incarnate?? He wanders around piecing together clues as if he was INDIANA JONES by way of RAIN MAN; he is the world's first idiot-savant adventurer. What really catapults this film above its predecessor is the inclusion of ED HARRIS as the villainous Mitch Wilkinson. The first film had a rather lifeless baddie, but Harris is a very strong physical presence. Here he channels the same brute force that served him so well in films like THE ABYSS to make Wilkinson a formidable foe for our heroes. Despite all the goofiness on display, this is a seriously fun and engaging film, moreso than most of the Indy films by comparison. And that's no easy task, my friends. Bring on a third!! EXTRAS This two-disc collection is jam-packed with extras that make this an exciting addition to any DVD collection. Besides a director commentary and outtakes segment, we also get: SECRETS OF A SEQUEL - This documentary looks at the difficulties of crafting an intricate sequel to the surprise success of the labyrinthine first film. ON LOCATION - This doc shows the tremendous amount of work utilized to film a movie across several continents and countries. This type of filmmaking is increasingly rare, and apparently no expenses were spared to bring us the exotic locations seen here. STREET STUNTS - The London car chase is one of the highlights of the movie, very visceral and rough. This doc looks at the making of this chase, and the logistics of creating it in one of the most crowded tourist locations in the world. There are some fascinating technical details here. INSIDE THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS - This doc alone makes this disc worth buying. If you have any interest in history at all, then this look inside the world's greatest library will astound you. I had no idea at all what the Library of Congress held, but it is truly breathtaking. You will be amazed. UNDERGROUND ACTION - Large hunks of this film take place in tunnels and caverns. This doc looks at the creation of believable caves that entail the environs of the movie. COVER STORY: CRAFTING THE PRESIDENT'S BOOK - Unbelievable. The titular book of secrets was meticulously created by calligraphy artists from samples of each President's handwriting. Yes, that's right - they created documents written in the hand of every single President who ever served. For the book. That is seen briefly for a few fleeting minutes onscreen. Amazing amounts of work for this. EVOLUTION OF A GOLDEN CITY - This doc looks at the creation of the city of gold seen at the end. I thought most of it was CGI, but it turns out that they actually built a huge section of this out of foam and wood and lots of paint. I was stunned at the craftsmanship involved in bringing this massive set to life. I sure hope people like Lucas don't put these artists out of work. KNIGHTS OF THE GOLDEN CIRCLE - A short doc about the ancient group that tried to re-ignite the Civil War. Interesting, although I still doubt some of it. OVERALL This is a truly entertaining film, filled with nice character moments and lots and lots of pulp. It never takes itself too seriously, yet never makes fun of itself and its audience (hint hint, Lucas). If you liked the first one at all, then this one is an improvement in many ways. If you like adventure films in the RAIDERS/MUMMY/ DAVINCI CODE vein, then you'll love this. A fun movie packaged well ... that is the greatest treasure of all. Two bonus clips from the DVD set are below...