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Strangely enough, considering all the action movies that he has starred in, National Treasure: Book of Secrets is Nicolas Cage's first ever sequel. As far as sequels go, it's a good place to start; despite its as-generic-as-they-come subtitle (the titular "Book of Secrets" isn't even a particularly major part of the plot), it is a substantial improvement over its predecessor. National Treasure Part I was a passable but utterly forgettable slice of popcorn hokum, with clear aspirations to be an Indiana Jones/Da Vinci Code hybrid, beating the latter to cinema screens. For a film that basically defined itself as an action adventure, however, it was disappointingly light on both the action and adventure elements. With Book of Secrets, director John Turteltaub increases the stakes - presumably helped by a bigger budget from The Bruckheimer - making for a second instalment that delivers on the promise of its intriguing history-themed tale.
Like the original, Book of Secrets begins with an entertaining prologue set in the past. This time we see the assassination of President Lincoln by John Wilkes Booth, which an ancestor of Cage's Ben Gates gets himself inadvertently involved in. Cut to the present day, and Ed Harris (the baddie this time, replacing the hero of Sheffield Sean Bean) reveals some evidence that Gates' great-great-grandfather was actually a plotter against Lincoln. Cage's subsequent quest to clear his family name is only a minor excuse to do some globetrotting and somehow merges with a mission to find the Native Americans' fabled City of Gold. The larger scale of everything this time round includes the geographical - our returning heroes (Cage along with romantic interest Diane Kruger and computer geek/comic relief Justin Bartha) travel from New York to Mount Rushmore via Paris and London. Also increased is the absurdity, with the film becoming more and more ridiculous the longer it goes on, but that's a big part of the fun. If you can't stomach a guy breaking into Buckingham Palace to examine a desk and then going on to kidnap the US President, this isn't the film for you.
If the first half or so is a bit too much like Mission: Impossible Lite, once the action gets going the problems fade into the background. A cracking car chase through the crowded streets of London is a mid-film highlight, and the subterranean last half hour with copious edge-of-seat moments is almost as good as an Indiana Jones outing. There's no denying that this is completely lightweight, unchallenging fare (even the history is rather questionable) but as an unpretentious blockbuster ride it's supremely enjoyable. Like many Bruckheimer productions, it's loud, brash, and goes on too long; a final scene could have been consigned to the end of the credits, or just excised. Fortunately, to less cynical viewers, the flaws won't matter too much.
The summary
Stupid fun. A likeable, fast-paced adventure for those able to suspend disbelief.
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