Movie Review

"National Treasure 2 - The Book of Secrets"

The first family of Treasure hunters are back and this time, Mum (Helen Mirren) joins in the fun in this much-awaited squeal. Benjamin Gates (played by Nicolas Cage) opens "The Book Of Secrets" with new information about John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of President Abe Lincoln and how the 18 pages from Booth's diary became missing at a lecture when Mitch Wilkinson (Ed Harris) revealed that he holds one of the missing pages from his forefather which implicates Thomas Gates, Benjamin's great-grandfather in the assassination of Lincoln. Suggesting that Ben's great-grandfather could be Lincoln's murderer came as a shock to Ben and his father Patrick (Jon Voight) when they had always thought of their ancestor as a national hero during the Civil War. This jump starts Ben and his dad to risk their reputation and lives on a quest to clear their family name on the Gates' history. Rounding up the same team made up of tech-guru cum struggling author, Riley Poole (Justin Batha) and his estranged wife Abigail (Diane Kruger - HOT!), the treasure hunters have to solve the mystery behind the missing diary pages.

A wild goose chase from Paris to Buckingham Palace and The White House to obtain vital clues from the twin resolute desks. Even resorting to kidnapping the President of the United States did not deter Ben from finding out the truth while tracking down a page from the fabled Book Of Secrets! Along the way, we see how Ben deals with his rocky relationship with Abigail and Riley's failure with skirt-chasing. The action scenes of car chase through the gritty streets of London is nothing new for Hollywood and I was hoping for a more inventive and intense outcome but was let downed by the run-of-the-mill chaos. After all the twists and turns, the 'clues' point to a mystical "City of Gold" at Mount Rushmore and finding it will clear the family name. However, the finale was tame and predictable, much to my disappointment. There were also provisions made for a third movie, something to do with page 47 in the Book of Secrets.

This second ride is not as refreshing as the first movie but it still managed to dish out an exhilarating adventure for everyone of all ages! More characters may mean more fun but this is a case of "too many chefs, spoiled the broth". There were lesser clues and even lesser action but redeems itself with well-timed humour. Three stars out of Five.