Story

Ben Gates (Nicolas Cage) is at it again. In National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets, Gates is faced with the accusation that one of his ancestors actually helped in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. As Gates tries to discover the truth and prove the innocence of his family name, Mitch Wilkinson (Ed Harris) is trying to use Gates to find the treasure he wants.

Everything Else

The directing of Book of Secrets is very familiar if you have seen the first film. It is still filled with the cheesy dialog and jokes and unbelievable Indiana Jones like action. There is plenty of excitement, but the story and acting do not excel.

The action and comedy actually seem to have the complete opposite effect on the story and acting. With each scene you have to allow yourself to be more and more open to the possibility that any of the things that Gates does are even possible. If you can get beyond this major characteristic of this film then you should be fine with everything else. Book of Secrets delves into conspiracy theory and treasure hunting in an entertaining if not so believable fashion that should keep most viewers entertained throughout.

The Real Deal

I liked Book of Secrets even though it was not the best movie. It was exactly what I had expected it to be so it did not disappoint. If I had gone into the film thinking that it was going to be better than the first film (or more believable) then it could have been more painful watching this one. National Treasure is not supposed to be believable or have great story or acting, but rather it is meant for pure entertainment value and it seems to live up to that.

David’s Score: 6/10

Written by Dave of DavesMovieReviews.com

Bad Lieutenant (the first one) was made in 1992 and starred Harvey Keitel as a corrupt cop investigating a nun’s rape. It was directed by Abel Ferrara from a screenplay by Ferrara and Zoe Lund. The “reimagining” was written by Billy Finkelstein.

Eva Mendes, who helped Cage stink up theaters all across the world with Ghost Rider, is in negotiations to join this nonsensical project.

Filming is set to begin in late summer.

However, I actually think the film he’s making now, Knowing, has a shot at being a decent flick. Alex Proyas is directing the film. Proyas most recently directed I, Robot which a lot of people didn’t care for, I guess, but I thought was pretty decent. He also, and more importantly directed The Crow and Dark City. Dark City, especially, showed some incredible visionary promise that Proyas is still trying to live up to and is an essential “must see” film for any true film geek.

USA Today provides us with our first look at some of the images from the film.

The plot of the film is as follows: In 1958, as part of the dedication ceremony for a new elementary school, a group of students is asked to draw pictures to be stored in a time capsule. But one of the students, a mysterious girl who seems to hear whispered voices, fills her sheet of paper with rows of apparently random numbers instead.

Fast forward 50 years to the present: A new generation of students examines the contents of the time capsule and the girl’s cryptic message ends up in the hands of young CALEB MYLES. But it is Caleb’s father, professor TED MYLES (Nicolas Cage), who makes the startling discovery that the encoded message predicts with pinpoint accuracy the dates, death tolls and coordinates of every major disaster of the past 50 years. As Ted further unravels the document’s secrets, he realizes it foretells three additional events—the last of which hints at destruction on a global scale and seems to somehow involve Ted and his son. When Ted’s attempts to alert the authorities fall on deaf ears, he takes it upon himself to try to prevent more destruction from taking place.

This gripping supernatural thriller charts one man’s faltering steps towards belief in the ultimate order of the universe even as he finds himself surrounded by mounting chaos. With the reluctant help of DIANA WHELAN (Rose Byrne) and ABBY, the daughter and granddaughter of the now-deceased author of the cryptic prophecies, Ted’s increasingly desperate efforts take him on a heart-pounding race against time until he finds himself facing the ultimate disaster—and the ultimate sacrifice.

Knowing is set to hit theaters on March 20th 2009.