The second National Treasure movie is a little hokier than the first, yet I still found it enjoyable. This one starts off with Ben (Nicolas Cage)giving a presentation about John Wilkes Booth and his great-grandfather’s involvement in the disappearance of pages from Booth’s diary. Great Grandpa Thomas Gates’s actions resulted in the Confederate Army not being able to find a lost treasure of gold, thus allowing the Union to win the war. Tension arises in the form of a character named Mitch Wilkinson (Ed Harris), who presents one of the missing diary pages to the group…said page claiming that Great Grampa Gates was not only involved in the assassination of Lincoln, but that he actually orchestrated it. Ben must find the lost city of gold to prove Thomas Gates was no traitor and to keep the family name from disgrace.
Cage was goofy and awkward in much of his acting. Harris always does well and I enjoyed watching him in most of this. What came off as dippy was due to the cutesiness of the script. As the more comedic character of the story, Justin Bartha did well with keeping me amused. Helen Mirren and Jon Voight played well off each other as well.
Overall the movie did have its silly, over-the-top moments, yet this was the perfect afternoon flick to watch with my dad. He enjoys the history/adventure mix (me too!). Plus, he’s a talker. Always has been. He likes to whisper tidbits, jokes, and random comments throughout the movie, and since this isn’t exactly a deep thinking drama, it’s great for some father/daughter time. (I should also mention, if you have a talker in the group, it’s best to go during times when kids will be in the theater and talking too. :P)
And well, that’s that. Have a happy day! :)
