Reviewed by Lamar Kukuk
12/23/07
Once again, let's ponder
the eternal question: why are sequels so rarely as good as the originals?
Specifically, why does National Treasure: Book of Secrets,
the follow-up to one of my favorite movies of 2004, fall short of its'
predecessor? Let's check my official list of Sequel Traps.
1)The cast's heart isn't
in it this time: Nope, led by the always-game Nicolas Cage, the heroes
of the original are in fine form, and it's nice to spend another two hours
in their company.
2)New filmmakers can't recapture
the original's spirit: New? Nothing new here: director
John Turteltaub, screenwriters The Wibberleys, producer Jerry Bruckheimer,
composer Trevor Rabin and just about everyone with a speaking part but
Sean Bean is right back where they started, and if anything they're a little
TOO determined to make everything as globe-trottingly fun as possible.
3)A story that serves no
purpose other than to allow more money to be made: DING DING DING DING!
We have a winner!
Return with us now to the
spring of 1865, when puzzle-loving historian Thomas Gates (Joel Gretsch)
is approached by two men to solve a cypher. He does so, but finds
it to be a Confederate Treasure Map just as Abraham Lincoln is assassinated
a few blocks away. He too is killed, but not before burning the map
and keeping an amazing treasure out of Confederate hands. His grandson
Patrick (Jon Voight) and great-grandson Ben (Nicolas Cage) are justifiably
proud, but while giving a speech on his legacy, they're confronted by Mitch
Wilkinson (Ed Harris). He holds what he claims is one of the 18 missing
pages of John Wilkes-Boothe's diary, and it names Thomas Gates as a conspirator.
Determined to clear his ancestor's name, Ben gets the old gang back together,
starting with his estranged girlfriend, antiquities expert Abigail Chase
(Diane Kruger) and computer hacking hack author Riley Poole (Justin Bartha).
Discovering a code on that page, they begin a globe-trotting adventure
which will involve breaking into Buckingham Palace, enlisting the help
of Ben's Mother Emily (Helen Mirren), and, uh, kidnapping the President
of the United States (Bruce Greenwood). Why? It seems there's
a book that passes from each Chief Executive to the next filled with our
nation's most shocking secrets.
Don't get me wrong, I liked
Book of Secrets, primarily because it accomplishes the number one
goal of popcorn-munching entertainment: it's a lot of fun.
While the screenplay feels obligated to open the movie with Ben and Abigail
separated, the old spark between the characters is still very much there
(memo to casting directors: Diane Kruger is great at this kind of
light adventure, find more roles that take advantage of it!). Bartha
is once again a first-rate comic sidekick, and Voight's absent-minded professor
and Harvey Keitel's highly connected FBI agent continue to be great foils.
Most importantly, Benjamin Gates and Nicolas Cage were made for each other:
nobody else could embody his blend of intelligence, sincerity, and historical
geekiness so perfectly. Movie characters so often seem to be experts
on things for no apparent reason, but Cage and Kruger really sell us the
notion that they LOVE history. Ditto the movie's best addition, Greenwood
as that rarest of commodities: a US President you might actually
be able to trust. As in Thirteen Days, the Canadian actor
makes an awesome all-American Commander-in-Chief, and he seems just as
intellectually curious as our heroes.
The movie's first hour moves
like a runaway train, racing from one clue to the next stopping only for
breathless chases and daring break-ins. It keeps a person from stopping
to think too much about any of what's going on, but also lacks the subtle
smarts of the original, which wasn't afraid to really sit back and let
its' characters work out the intricate historical puzzle that concealed
the Templar Treasure. This time, the clues aren't nearly as obscure
or the puzzle nearly as intricate, and Gates and company have lost all
sense of proportion, going from zero to “kidnap the President” the moment
anything pops into their heads, and never having much trouble executing
their outrageous plans. But we do have Trevor Rabin recycling his
awesome score from the original to keep us in the moment and not worrying
too much about all that...
All the while, Harris and
his hired goons follow from a safe distance, never trying to solve the
mysteries themselves as Sean Bean did as NT1's far superior villain.
But when they finally make their move and all parties converge on Mount
Rushmore for a lengthy climax full of sound and fury that signifies nothing,
Book of Secrets' wheels come off. Not only is it unable to
round off its' story in a satisfying manner (even a moment's thought will
reveal a less costly way out of the final trap our heroes must escape),
but the more we learn about Mitch Wilkinson, the less interesting he is
as either a villain or a character. I wouldn't be surprised if the
already two and a quarter-hour movie has left considerable information
about him on the cutting room floor, as it's very difficult to lay what
we learn of his plans flat and see them as anything other than tail-chasing
screenwriting contrivance. Because there must be a National Treasure
2, Ben Gates must go on another adventure. But The Wibberleys
(come out from behind that stage name, husband-and-wife Cormac and Marianne
Wibberley!) have been unable to give us a story where he does so.
Wilkinson ultimately seems more like Bruckheimer himself, showing up at
the characters' doors to roust them back out into the field under false
pretenses. Harris puts all of his considerable skill into breathing
life into the character, but it's ultimately for naught.
I had a lot of fun watching
National Treasure: Book of Secrets, just as I'm sure I'll
have a lot of fun at the next adventure irritatingly hinted at in the closing
moments (this isn't Lost, people, don't be mentioning shocking secrets
you're not prepared to tell me). But it exists for only one reason:
to exploit the goodwill generated by its' predecessor, and does so quite
skillfully. It's the other parts of being an actual movie that could
use a little work. |
