National Treasure/National Treasure 2 - Book Of Secrets [Blu-ray]

National Treasure 2 is an unusual sequel in that it out-performs the first film. It follows the same format of a globe-trotting treasure hunt with Nic Cage as the slightly daffy professor on the track of an historic mystery. However, NT2 positively gallops along from one clue to the next, dashing from the USA to Paris to London and back again -- just in time to burgle the two most well-protected buildings on the planet and then kidnap (!) the President.
NT2 isn't a serious film but it does have a very serious cast and an edge-of-the-seat director. So Cage is well supported by the likes of Harvey Keitel, Jon Voigt and Ed Harris (who plays the bad guy. Well, sort of. You'll see!). NT2 probably takes huge liberties with actual fact and historical events but it is tightly plotted and extremely enjoyable. Bad guys always drive (indestructible) Range Rovers, and James Bond ain't the only man to wear a dinner suit under a wetsuit.

The continuity is spotty in places, and Cage is guilty of mumbling some of what should be snappy one-liners. But we (two reasonably intelligent adults) enjoyed it from beginning to end and it's perfect entertainment for a mixed audience. NT2 isn't as outright silly as the final Lara Croft film, nor is it as pompous and slowly-paced as the Da Vince Code. It's a tense adventure romp, and it's set a pretty high standard for the Indiana Jones comeback...
8/10

`National Treasure' stars Nicholas Cage as Ben Gates, a treasure hunter whose life-long dream is to find the treasures from the templar knights. A clue at the North Pole sets things in motion, and Ben must use his formidable cryptography skills to decipher puzzles hidden in the most unlikely places--one appears on the dollar bill, and another is on the back of the U.S. constitution. Ben's unscrupulous former partner (Sean Bean) and his gang of thugs are also after the treasure for selfish, evil purposes. A plot to steal the constitution sets off a 13-colony-wide chase with all the trimmings: cops going after the wrong man, the rescue of a cute female cryptographer (Diane Kruger) who tags along for the ride, along with Jon Voight who plays Ben's disapproving father.

If you're a fan of other adventure films like Indiana Jones then this is a film for you! It's like The Da Vinci Code but a lot more fun. From the opening scenes there are just so many fast-pace, clever and near-impossible action sequences that do not fail to thrill at all.

As well as the action there is plenty of comedy, mainly from Ben's side-kick Riley (Justin Bartha) who comes out with endless one-liners. There's also a good amount of history to be learnt so if young ones are watching this is a perfect way of learning a bit of American history whilst watching an exciting action film, how much of it is true however, I'm not sure!

The picture on this Disney Blu Ray is simply unbeatable - every hair plug on Cage's head have never been clearer! I used to own this on standard DVD and this Blu Ray picture and sound quality is ten times better.

Overall this is an excellent globe-trotting adventure that audiences of all ages can enjoy. Highly recommended for anyone after some breathtaking action sequences and witty script.

In `National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets' Nicholas Cage and his bad haircut/wig returns as Ben Gates in the follow-up to the excellent 2004 film. He has been kicked out of his girlfriend, Abigail's (Diane Kruger) house and he has also just found out that his great grandfather is on the list of names associated with the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. With the help of Abigail and his side-kick Riley (Justin Bartha), Ben attempts to clear his family's name by using his deciphering skills to follow the clues to find the legendary City of Gold.

The first National Treasure was a surprisingly excellent adventure film that was well up there in the ranks with Indiana Jones and The Da Vinci Code, but the follow-up wasn't so great. Although there are still some amazing action sequences including an impressive car (and lorry) chase through the busy city streets of Central London (on a day where the police must have all been off work!) and an attempt at kidnapping the president of the United States, it really failed with the characters this time round as they were all extremely un-likeable and nowhere near as funny as in the first one. Kruger's character was just so stuck-up and irritating where as Helen Mirren's character of Ben's mum was just completely pointless and felt out of place. Ed Harris' character however was very good as the bad guy, Mitch who I did tend to hate the whole way through.

I'm not saying that I didn't enjoy this film as it was still very good, but it didn't have the feel-good sparks of the first one and the script wasn't as clever and the action wasn't as exciting.

The Blu Ray quality is again unbeatable proving that Disney really are the best when it comes to crisp, sharp images and sound.

Overall, if you've seen the original you'll probably like this, as I did, but I do warn you that you will feel underwhelmed.

National Treasure - 5/5
National Treasure Book Of Secrets - 3/5
Overall - 4/5

National Treasure 1:
Audio:
Dolby TrueHD 5.1 English.
DTS 5.1 French, Spanish, Italian.
Dolby Digital 5.1 French, Spanish, Italian.

Sub: English, French, Spanish, Italian, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish,
Finnish, Icelandic, Dutch.

National Treasure 2:
Audio:
Dolby TrueHD 5.1 English.
DTS 5.1 French, Thai, Spanish, Portuguese.
Dolby Digital 2.0 English audio described.

Sub: English, French, Spanish, Thai, traditional Chinese, Portuguese,
Bahasa, Malay, Korean