National Treasure, released in India on January 21, 2005 is one of my all-time favourite Hollywood movie. So it was quite obvious that I was waiting for the sequel of National Treasure, National Treasure: Book Of Secrets since I saw its trailer in June 2007. Actually, I wasn’t much expecting from it because of the bad reviews. But surprisingly, I found the movie quite interesting and like the first part, the second part too is very exciting with lots of puzzles, Masti, history and adventure!!
The story of the movie: Benjamin Gates (Nicolas Cage) was presenting some information about Abraham Lincoln’s assassinator James Wilkes Booth and also about his diary which had 18 pages missing, when suddenly Mitch Wilkinson (Ed Harris) appeared and presented a missing page of Booth’s diary. And surprisingly, Thomas Gates’ great grandfather is mentioned on that page, convincing everyone that Thomas Gates was the mastermind behind the murder of Abraham Lincoln. However, Ben knew this cannot be possible and therefore sets out to prove that his great grandfather was innocent. While Ben was inspecting the missing diary page, he discovered a cipher and soon he found himself, his ex-girlfriend Abigail (Diane Kruger), his pal Riley (Justin Barther) and his parents on the verge of the treasure, the legendary City Of Gold. But Mitch Wilkinson was also behind the treasure and so the goal of Ben and his group is to find the treasure, staying a step ahead of Mitch. In order to get the clues, Ben had to break into Queen’s room in Buckingham Palace, then into the White House, and also had to kidnap the US President (Bruce Greenwood) for some moments! And because of all this, along with Mitch, the cops were also behind him! So will Ben be successful, like the last time?
The main story starts rolling from the first scene itself, with no timepass in the beginning! And as the movie progresses, it keeps getting better and better. Like the first part, the second part also has a lot of exciting and adventurous moments which keeps one’s eyes glued to the screen throughout the movie.
The first half is wonderful, with not a single dull and boring moment. The Abraham Lincoln assassination sequence was superb but the best scenes were the one in which Ben had to do break into the White House and the Buckingham Palace.
The second half was equally powerful, however the climax disappointed a bit. It was superb no doubt but it was not very exciting and nail-biting. Maybe, it could have been better. However, the entire sequence on Mount Rushmore and the search for the lost city of gold was amazing and it may bring memories of the Indiana Jones movies!
But the movie was not as good as the first part in many aspects. As I said the climax was not perfect. Secondly, the movie also left certain questions unanswered. For instance, we didn’t come to knew exactly how Ben proved his great grandfather’s innocence. And secondly, Ben’s breakup with his girlfriend just went over my head.
Nicolas Cage as usual was just fantastic. He performed his part wonderfully and it was great to see him in spectacles and the way he wore them when he had something to read! Superb work, Cage! You rock as always!!
Justin Bartha was very funny as his role expected him to play. But as compared to the first half, it seemed that his role lacked meat. But though, his performance was great. Diane Kruger also gave a good performance. She, too, had less to do than the first half, mainly because of the inclusion of many characters in this part.
Jon Voight as Ben’s dad Patrick Gates was okay initially but was great in the scenes with his wife Emily (played by Helen Mirren). Ed Harris, the villain, was good and the conclusion to his character was great. Bruce Greenword, who played the role of US President, was fantastic! He looked every inch like the president! Others did a good job.
The writers of this movie did a remarkable job and it is evident that quite a lot research must be done by them. Even the screenplay, like the first part, was gripping and extremely powerful. The cinematography was brilliant and the lensmen captured some of the scenes amazingly!
Special mention should be made of Julian Ashby, the art director. He really did a great job by building up marvelous sets, especially the one of the lost city of gold.
Jon Turteltaub’s direction was simply superb and he did full justice to the story.
Some of the best scenes in the movie:
1. Abraham Lincoln assassination
2. Riley’s entry!
3. Ben and Riley In Paris
4. The scene inside the Buckingham Palace
5. The chase sequence in London
6. The scene inside the White House
7. Ben with the President
8. The scene in the Library of Congress
9. The scene at Mount Rushmore
- The scene in the Lost City of Gold and the final scene
On the whole, National Treasure: Book Of Secrets is too good, though not as exciting as the first part. If you, like me, loved the first part, then you should surely watch this flick. Also don’t miss if you are a lover of history, adventure and treasure-hunting!
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