National Treasure: Book of Secrets

This was a very laid back weekend at the Kane household. There was absolutely nothing on the schedule for the weekend, which might be the last time for a good month.

It was nice to spend some time with my wife and my son without anything having to force us out of the house. It was very peaceful.

And, we were able to catch up on some movies.

We watched a trio of movies this weekend (well more than that, but these were three we put into the DVD player). The first of which was National Treasure: Book of Secrets.

I had started watching the first National Treasure film a year or so ago, but the DVD which I was watching it on had a glitch - and I had not finished the film until just a few weeks ago. So, it was pretty fresh in my mind when watching this sequel.

For most people out there, Nicolas Cage is a terrible actor. But, I am not one of those people - while I will admit he is not anywhere close to a great actor, he gets no ill-will from me. I can actually deal with him.

That being said, I really enjoyed National Treasure: Book of Secrets. I thought it flowed very well, and of course a lot of the things that happen are very unbelievable (it is a movie), but it is highly original, which I like. And, it kept me interested throughout.

The whole idea about clues hidden on or in historical documents leading to treasures or more historical documents is amazing. I love treasure hunt movies, and this one was very good.

Things start out as Ben Gates (Cage) and his father Patrick (Jon Voight) are giving a lecture about how Patrick's great-grandfather (or perhaps grandfather) Thomas Gates hid the location of the City of Gold from the Knights of the Golden Circle and John Wilkes Booth.

After the lecture, a man named Mitch Wilkinson (Ed Harris), whose relative was a member for the KGC, shows them a part of Booth's diary with names of the members of the KGC - including the name of Thomas Gates.

So, in order to preserve their family name, Ben and Patrick, along with Riley Poole (Justin Bartha) and Abigail Chase (Diane Kruger) set out on a second journey, this time to find the City of Gold.

There were a few things I did not like - for instance the oil lamp near the end of the film that just happens to be there, it reminded me a lot of the first movie, which could have been avoided - but, I guess I am just nitpicking.

Grade:

P.S. - In the future, I am hoping to have a certain tie-in to the movies I watch during the weekend - that is, when I am able to watch movies on the weekend. Something like a 'Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon'-type thing.