National Treasure: Book of Secrets Reviews

Mufasa's Pride

New Member
Original Poster
Goofy's How to Hook up a Home Theatre System:

  • Great Short. Exceeded my expectations.
  • Kept the same feel as the 50s and 60s cartoons, but added a nice modern flare.
  • I won't give any away, but I saw at least two Hidden Mickeys and one slightly disrespectful Hidden "Walt."
  • Although I throughly enjoyed the short and glad Lasseter revived the medium, it felt kind-of awkward going to a National Treasure movie and seeing a cartoon at the beginning. The short had nothing to do with any of the movie's theme, so therefore I felt it added nothing to the overall experiance There was even some booing by the audience as the cartoon poped up on the screen.
Overall Grade: B+, only because of the awkwardness of viewing it in front of Natinal Treasure and taking you out of the "element." My opinon is that Disney should stick to showing shorts only in front of animated and Pixar movies so they apeal better to the viewing audience.

National Treasure: Book of Secrets Review to come.....
 

Mufasa's Pride

New Member
Original Poster
National Treasure: Book of Secrets, Spoiler-Free Review

•Great Opening “Flashback” Scene sets mood for movie quite well (What was the point of the random one-legged man?)
•All returning Cast Great, especially one-liner sidekick Riley played by Justin Bartha and Cage’s Father played by John Voight
•Nicholas Cage- too bland of an actor for me, but loosens up a bit in this movie and delivers a superior performance to his first
•Seems choppy at points moving from Location to Location
•TONS of Subtle Advertisements throughout film (i.e. Mac labtop, Apple iPod, MSN Homepage, Motorola Razor, Ferrari, Mercedes). I thought it added to the realism of the film, but others in my group saw it as a cheap way for Disney to “pay off” the production costs.
•Storyline more fluid and easier to follow than the first.
•Slightly less Historical than the first movie, but still educational
•Some fragmented plotlines with certain characters at the end, but overall nice adventure packed finale
•Cheap setup for a possible third Movie at the end
•Great New Character: Nicholas Cage’s Mom, John Voight’s ex-wife and Olmec Translating Professor played by Helen Mirren

Overall Grade: A-, Outshines Predecessor at all points: Storyline, Humor, and Acting
Anyone who enjoyed the first movie would love the second
 

Connor002

Active Member
•Storyline more fluid and easier to follow than the first.

Overall Grade: A-, Outshines Predecessor at all points: Storyline, Humor, and Acting
Anyone who enjoyed the first movie would love the second
I agree with many of your thoughts, but must completely contradict these two.

If anything, I found the plot much too "loose." Whereas the first movie was great at tying everything together (meaning, the financier became the villain, the pipe became the key, and so on), the second installment seems far too fragmented. For example, the diary page at first seems the most important item, and yet by the end of the movie it is basically forgotten. However, I do think that I would need to see it again to make a final judgment call on the issue.

The biggest problem I saw was that there was too little development of the "villain" character, whose name slips my mind. Without understanding and having an appreciation for who he is, his sacrifice lacks the effect that it could have had.
 

dizpins14

Member
I had a weird feeling when watching this movie and I couldn't figure it out until close to the end. I felt nothing....I didn't care about it. I liked the first one a good bit. I thought the clues were cool and how everything ties together in the first movie but the problem with the 2nd movie was, the clues were too conveniant. They figured out everything way too easily and it just made them go from one place to another like a bad episode of Where in the World is Carmen Sandiago. My main problem with the movie though was everything was shown in the trailer, and you could not escape the trailer leading up to the movie. I knew what was coming next all based on the trailer.
 

Karolena

New Member
I haven't seen the movie and don't want anything spoiled, but I have to ask this question.

Nicholas Cage's mom? When I saw the first movie I got the impression she was dead. Did anyone else think that?
 

catinthehat

New Member
I've read a few harsh reviews from critics, but most of what I hear from people I know who've seen it tell me that it's fantastic, and those are the people I trust most. So I haven't gotten a chance to see it yet, but I'm going to this weekend, and I don't think I'll be disappointed!

Thanks for the great and detailed review, Mufasa's Pride. You've made me even more excited to see it now :)
 

Nicole220

Well-Known Member
Saw it the other day. It was good, but not as good as the first.

My favorite character is still Riley, he's so loveable and funny!

Did anyone else think the end is setting up for a third movie? My parents thought so, but it didn't seem like it to me...:shrug:
 

wdwmomof3

Well-Known Member
Do you mean after the credits?

We all thought that there may be a third movie because of what the President said about page 47 at the end of the movie, but it was before the credits.


I liked the Goofy short, but it seemed like the rest of the theater was mixed. Some of the people were laughing, while others were groaning to just get on with the movie.


As much as we love Goofy, the Goofy short drove us crazy.
 

Mad Stitch

Well-Known Member
Ah, the page 47 loose end that was never tied up. It never crossed my mind as the possible topic for a third movie but I guess you could be right.
 

Tiggerfanatic

Well-Known Member
Just got back from watching the movie - thought it was pretty good, not as good as the first, but very entertaining. Riley's my favorite, too. I also agree that the "Page 47" reference opens up the possibility of the 3rd movie.

And I liked the Goofy short at the beginning - I was tickled to see an honest-to-God cartoon, and I guess I'm old enough to remember that just about every movie I went to see as a kid started with a cartoon (especially at the drive-in) and they usually had absolutely nothing to do with the movie.
 

Mufasa's Pride

New Member
Original Poster
Ah, the page 47 loose end that was never tied up. It never crossed my mind as the possible topic for a third movie but I guess you could be right.
I was completely speculating about the third movie possibilty, but it looks like Rotten Tomatoes (not the most reliable source) picked up on the hint too.

______________________________

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/national_treasure_book_of_secrets/news/1697907/


"National Treasure was never intended to be a franchise. When the first installment did well, the filmmakers started from scratch to come up with a sequel. This time, though, they built in a potential part three. National Treasure: Book of Secrets mentions the mysterious page 47 of the president's secret book, which could be whatever they decide it should be in National Treasure 3.

Star Nicolas Cage gave the screenwriters a lot to live up to with one simple improvisation. "The way we left the movie, the President asked Ben, 'What's on page 47?'" Cage said. "I wanted to figure out what I could say that would really make people interested in what's on page 47 without saying it, so I thought of the words 'life altering.' Whatever it is, it's going to have to be life-altering."

Director Jon Turteltaub is not holding himself to the page 47 idea. "We can always tell people that's the fourth movie," he said. "That doesn't work. I've actually seen movies that seem like they're setting up for the sequel and that wasn't the sequel."

Even producer Jerry Bruckheimer said that the mention of page 47 is as far as development on National Treasure 3 has gotten. "The writers might know, but I don't know," he said. "And they're not going to tell me now because they're on strike."

Still, Cage already has ideas. "I believe that it should become more and more International Treasure," he said. "I was very happy to see that we went to London, England and Paris, France, but I'd like to see the movie go wider still. I'd like to go into Africa, Egypt, Asia, and keep going. My hope is that Ben is recruited and he gets a dossier from these other countries about their history, and has to download it and learn it, and then try to go on these hunts on their behalf. That would be a lot of fun for me."

_____________________________________________

Why would you add a cliff-hanging line in a movie if you had no intentions of making another sequel? I bet Disney is waiting to see how "Book of Secrets" does in the box office before deciding on another sequel like they did with the first-to-second movie. If they do go this avenue, National Treasure 3 looks like a bright possibility considering the box office numbers coming out if they can get Bruckheimer, Cage, and the writer strike ends.

Anyway, I do like the idea of an International Treasure. The well of "American Treasures" has run pretty well dry from Movies 1 and 2, so the idea of an Egyptian type treasure seems interesting.

A little speculation has never killed any one. :)
 

myhappyplace

Crazy Cat Lady
this seems offbase, but is anyone a former Alias viewer/ fan? weren't there many references to page 47. all the rambaldi manuscripts and documents always included a mysterious page 47 that revealed a major secret or twist?

on topic, i haven't seen it yet, but thank you for the review. i really want to see it now!
 

darthjohnny

Active Member
I haven't seen the movie and don't want anything spoiled, but I have to ask this question.

Nicholas Cage's mom? When I saw the first movie I got the impression she was dead. Did anyone else think that?

Yeah. The first movie did kind of make it seem that Ben Gates' mother was dead.

But I guess since they never actually stated that the mother "was dead" the writers were able to play with that idea that the mother was dead, just gone away.

It was kind of like what happened to Bootstrap Bill in the Pirates of the Caribbean movie. In the first, it's hinted that Bootstrap Bill is trapped forever underwater and presumably would have died once the curse was removed. But the writers were able to play with it in the second and third films and bring him back.

I guess making Helen Mirren the mother gave her character more meaning and connection to Ben Gates rather than making her some translator that just tagged along.

As for the set up for another sequel, I thought it was cool and hope they go ahead with it. :)
 

prberk

Well-Known Member
Just got back from watching the movie - thought it was pretty good, not as good as the first, but very entertaining. Riley's my favorite, too. I also agree that the "Page 47" reference opens up the possibility of the 3rd movie.

And I liked the Goofy short at the beginning - I was tickled to see an honest-to-God cartoon, and I guess I'm old enough to remember that just about every movie I went to see as a kid started with a cartoon (especially at the drive-in) and they usually had absolutely nothing to do with the movie.

I agree completely with you. The Goofy short was refreshing... beginning to make the movie experience a true experience again. You get more for your money, like you used to.

We have developed cynical audiences that we need to re-train to expect more from the movies. It would not have been a bad idea to put a blurb about the cartoon at the bottom of advertisements (which also used to be the case).

I liked having the cartoon -- and I also like National Treasure itself's tone and feel (even though I think the second half -- especially the little gold idol and trap doors in a cave -- came right out of the original Raiders of the Lost Ark!)

Paul
 

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