5Q Movie Review: National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets

Q: Did you enjoy the sequel as much as the original?
A: In a word, no. The first one was goofy, and everybody knew it, but it had a certain spirit, a sense of fun and derring-do. I found less adventure in this one. I mean, there are stunts and some thrills, but it just seems more dependent on comic relief and shtick. Of course, maybe I'm just judging it more harshly because it's been done before--in the first movie, that is, not to mention the scores of other adventure movies it borrows from.

Q: Well, do you at least get to see Cage being Cage?
A: Oh, yeah. There are moments of Nicolas Cage overacting because his character is supposed to be overacting, and there are also good old-fashioned Cage overacting moments. Fear not, sports fans. You get your dose of the man here. His sidekicks from the first movie also return, and while they don't have a memorable chemistry together, they don't look out of place together, either.


Q: Surely the great Helen Mirren adds some class to the proceedings, right?
A: Not only does she seem out of place, but her character actually hurts "NT2." The sexual tension/bickering between her and Jon Voight as Cage's parents is almost instantly tiresome. It's like someone realized there wasn't much point in making Cage and Diane Kruger spar the whole story, so they had to shift that stuff to the older generation. Doesn't work.


Q: Is there really a basement at Mount Vernon like the one shown in the movie?
A: There apparently is, according to the property's management, but there isn't an elaborate system of underground tunnels like the ones Cage walks through with a certain VIP. At least, so they say. There are some other cool conspiracies and secrets "revealed" here, though, stuff that even if not true gives the audience something fun to ponder. Take, for example., the Book of Secrets that is supposedly passed down from President to President. If you're into stuff like that, you might get a bigger kick out of the movie than the average fella.


Q: Are there any added attractions before the film that might make it more worthwhile?
A: I am SO glad you just happened to ask that wonderfully on-target question because in fact there is a Goofy cartoon--not goofy like the feature, but the Disney character Goofy--before the main attraction. It's quite amusing, a short bit of slapstick featuring the Goofmeister demonstrating how to install a home theater system. It's a welcome surprise and helps add some value to the underwhelming, if never really bad, National Treasure 2.