National Treasure: Book of Secrets (2007)

Director:

Jon Turteltaub

Writers (WGA):

Marianne Wibberley (screenplay) &
Cormac Wibberley (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

21 December 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

Treasure hunter Benjamin Franklin Gates looks to discover the truth behind the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, by uncovering the mystery within the 18 pages missing from assassin John Wilkes Booth's diary.

Plot Keywords:

Flare | Chase | Virginia | Stairwell | Scuba

Awards:

5 nominations

Cast

Nicolas Cage	...	Ben Gates
Justin Bartha	...	Riley Poole
Diane Kruger	...	Abigail Chase
Jon Voight	...	Patrick Gates
Helen Mirren	...	Emily Appleton
Ed Harris	...	Mitch Wilkinson
Harvey Keitel	...	Sadusky
Bruce Greenwood	...	The President
Ty Burrell	...	Connor
Michael Maize	...	Daniel
Timothy V. Murphy	...	Seth
Alicia Coppola	...	FBI Agent Spellman
Armando Riesco	...	FBI Agent Hendricks
Albert Hall	...	Dr. Nichols
Joel Gretsch	...	Thomas Gates

Also Known As:

National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets (South Africa: English title) (DVD box title) (USA) (DVD box title)
National Treasure 2 (Australia)

MPAA:

Rated PG for some violence and action.

Runtime:

124 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS | SDDS

Certification:

USA:PG (certificate #43985) | Ireland:PG | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Philippines:G (MTRCB) | Finland:K-11 | Argentina:Atp | Taiwan:PG-12 | Malaysia:U | Sweden:11 | South Africa:10V | Peru:PT | South Africa:10M | Australia:PG | Norway:11 | South Korea:12 | New Zealand:PG | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Singapore:PG | Brazil:10 | Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Buckingham Palace, Westminster, London, England, UK

Company:

Jerry Bruckheimer Films

Trivia:

The script originally called for Mitch Wilkinson to stab Patrick Gates in the scene where they escape from the flooding gold city. This was taken out in post because it made the character "cross a line" that the director felt ought not be crossed. This is why there are almost no shots of Patrick Gates remaining in this scene: he was bleeding, and that's hard to hide. On a side note, the sweater he was wearing in the next scene had been ripped from the stabbing, and they were able to "unrip" his shirt with CG.

Goofs:

Continuity: Abigail sees the earpiece in Ben's ear when they are in London. The earpiece then disappears and is never seen again.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Barkeep: He's in the other room.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in In the Land of Women (2007)

Soundtrack:

I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Cocoanuts

An entertaining movie

There are a select few individuals out there that seem to garner everything they know about life from movies, be it political viewpoints, philosophy, etc. and find it objectionable when a movie is produced purely for entertainment purposes. I can't speak for everyone, but as for myself, I don't want to have to pay to have yet another political viewpoint shoved down my throat (CNN/Foxnews broadcasts 24/7 for that), or to be beaten over the head with with the life philosophy of some bazillionaire producer/director that lives in the Ivory Tower that is Hollywood. I can read Zarathustra, the Tao Tse Ching, or even the Bible for that.

When I go to see a movie, I just wan to be entertained, and National Treasure BoS delivers there. Not the best movie I have ever seen, but it was an entertaining escape from reality for two hours and that it was I pay my money for. For me, the best part of the movie wasn't Nic Cage. He has done so many movies, it seems like he has gotten to the point where he is just punching the clock. He doesn't stand out on film, but he isn't horrible either and that is what we get from him here - a very pedestrian workmanlike performance. I would like to think he has another touchstone performance in him like the one he gave in "Leaving Las Vegas", but if he can still keep getting several million per movie just being average, why put in the effort. Diane Kruger was also pretty average. She shined in the first movie, but not so much here.

For me, John Voight, Justin Bartha and Helen Mirren were what made the movie good. John Voight was great. His character was both funny and endearing and the synergy between him and Mirren was palpable. Mirren showed once again why she is arguably the best actress in the business. Justin Bartha was a scene stealer and had some of the funniest lines (along with Voight).