National Treasure: Book of Secrets
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Over the weekend I finally got a chance to see National Treasure: Book of Secrets, the followup to the 2004 film. In this installment, which is more like an episode than a sequel, we follow Ben Gates as he seeks to disprove the allegations that his grandfather was a co-conspiritor in the assassination of Lincoln. As he embarks on his journey he’s followed across the world by the films antagonist, who just so happens to be after the very treasure that could save the Gates family name.
I have to admit, when when the trailer was first released, I was fairly excited. I was probably geared up for this film, more than any other one set to release in December. It wasn’t that I thought it would be better than any other film being released, it was the fact that I knew exactly what to expect from it. National Treasure: Book of Secrets is, quite simply, an immensely “fun” experience.
The acting isn’t particularly great, the action sequences aren’t all that memorable, and the writing is often cheesy. However, it works for this film. The whole thing plays out like episodic television. In fact, it sort of feels like the writers of NBC’s Chuck got together and tried to write an episode of CBS’s Alias. While it’s not serious enough to be a “good movie”, if you just sit back with a snack and buy into the feel of the film it will be completely enjoyable.
The truth is that you either like this sort of film, or you don’t. The real question then is how it stacks up against it’s predecessor. In my humble opinion, though still enjoyable, this sequel is nowhere near the original. It’s not that the original was a masterful work of art, but the puzzles, clues, locations, and mythology was so much grander than in this film, it just left me wanting more. The first film created a mythos around all these symbols taken right out of our lives. Things that we learn about or see every day. They didn’t invent things that we’re new to us and then tell us why they were significant, they took things we already knew of and then created hidden messages within them. That’s where the magic came from.
Unfortunately, in Book of Secrets, all the puzzles were very specific, part of a secret society, or just not something we all spend every day looking at. Also, Ben Gates seemed to have the magic ability to solve any puzzle, no matter how difficult, in a matter of seconds. There were also a few scenes towards the end of the film where the group shouldn’t have needed a puzzle to figure out what to do next, but the writers threw one in there just to ensure their entire treasure hunting film didn’t rely on only three puzzles.
All in all, I still think the movie was really enjoyable. If you’re a fan of the first one, or just a fan of light hearted treasure hunting movies in general, I’d definitely recommend the movie to you.
posted by Christopher Schnese
