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Whistle Stopper - National Treasure / National Treasure 2 - Book of Secrets [Blu-ray] (Amazon.com Exclusive)
![National Treasure / National Treasure 2 - Book of Secrets [Blu-ray] (Amazon.com Exclusive)](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51W21duUMxL._SL160_.jpg)
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List Price: $69.98
Our Price: $36.20
Your Save: $ 33.78 ( 48% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Buena Vista Home Entertainment / Touchstone
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Binding: Blu-ray
EAN: 0786936770902
Format: Dolby
Label: Buena Vista Home Entertainment / Touchstone
Manufacturer: Buena Vista Home Entertainment / Touchstone
Number Of Items: 2
Publisher: Buena Vista Home Entertainment / Touchstone
Region Code: 1
Release Date: 2008-05-20
Running Time: 256
Studio: Buena Vista Home Entertainment / Touchstone
Theatrical Release Date: 2004-11-19
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: As Good as the original
Comment: Again I was on the edge of my seat and caught up in the search just as I was with "Natural Treasure." If you liked that one you'll love this one.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great movie, a must see!
Comment: National Treasure 2 - Book of Secrets (Widescreen)was a great movie to see! This sequel was just as good as the first story of National Treasure. The movie came very quickly and it was in excellent condition. We can highly recommend purchasing this movie.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Umm ...Does Anyone Know How Finding The Treasure Would Clear The Gates Family Name?
Comment: I admit that watching the first NATIONAL TREASURE movie was a guilty pleasure, but here ends my enjoyment of anything National or Treasure. Sequels are tough to pull off (can anyone say "Indiana Jones 4?") and one has to wonder why Hollywood continues to pump them out even when the script fails on almost every level ...and such was the case with National Treasure 2.
If anyone can tell me how finding this new treasure helped solve the Gates family's problem related to their relatives' association with the Lincoln assassination, please let me know. Because that was what this film was all about, right? I mean, we start off with Thomas Gates (Joel Gretsch, The Legend of Bagger Vance) being approached by the men who set up President Lincoln's assassination, who in turn kill Thomas for refusing to give up the secrets to an ancient language in a document they have. We then move on to the current day where this document comes to the attention of the Gates family by the sinister Mitch Wilkinson (Ed Harris) who presents his evidence that Thomas Gates was the mastermind behind Lincoln's death. So Ben Gates (Nicholas Cage, Ghost Rider), his father Patrick (Jon Voight, Transformers), Ben's estranged wife Abigail (Diane Kruger) and Ben's trusty friend and sidekick Riley (Justin Bartha, Failure to Launch) head out to clear the family name by finding the lost treasure of pre-America. But how, exactly, this will clean-up their family name isn't clear ...or even explained. A pretty big hole in the story's central plot.
This plot hole combined with everything we've already seen in the previous NATIONAL TREASURE film makes this second installment tedious and full of non-surprises.
The only positive spin the film can claim is Justin Bartha's Riley character who infuses almost all of the comedy by having a monopoly on the best lines ("Ben, if it were you trying to convince me, you'd have less evidence and I'd already believe you by now.").
But that's it. Even the dastardly character Mitch Wilkinson (Harris) doesn't stay dastardly; only moments before he turns "good" he was holding a knife to Ben's mother's neck (Helen Mirren, The Queen), making his character completely unbelievable now. Gah!
National Treasure 2 is a true disaster, with such poor characterization and plotting that it makes the entire film feel like it's laced with fool's gold with nary a piece of treasure in sight.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Truly a National Treasure
Comment: Is it as good as the original? No, but what sequel really is. Is it worthy of ownership. ABSOLUTELY! This movie has some good puzzles and action, and is quite good. It is just different enough from the original to be interesting. Highly recommended!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Good, but not as good as the first.
Comment: Well, this movie was suspenseful and mysterious like the first one. It game the viewer a good historical listen. But it still wasn't quite as historical, mysterious and suspenseful as the first National Treasure. But over all I think it was a successful sequel, more successful then most sequels to films. + about the only 2 sequels I can think of off the top of my head that were better then the first are "Lepricahn in the Hood", "American Pie 2", and "Rush Hour 2".
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Editorial Reviews:
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Amazon.com Review for National Treasure
Like a Hardy Boys mystery on steroids, National Treasure offers popcorn thrills and enough boyish charm to overcome its rampant silliness. Although it was roundly criticized as a poor man's rip-off of Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Da Vinci Code, it's entertaining on its own ludicrous terms, and Nicolas Cage proves once again that one actor's infectious enthusiasm can compensate for a multitude of movie sins. The contrived plot involves Cage's present-day quest for the ancient treasure of the Knights Templar, kept secret through the ages by Freemasons past and present. Finding the treasure requires the theft of the Declaration of Independence (there are crucial treasure clues on the back, of course!), so you can add "caper comedy" to this Jerry Bruckheimer production's multi-genre appeal. Nobody will ever accuse director Jon Turtletaub of artistic ambition, but you've got to admit he serves up an enjoyable dose of PG-rated entertainment, full of musty clues, skeletons, deep tunnels, and harmless adventure in the old-school tradition. It's a load of hokum, but it's fun hokum, and that makes all the difference. --Jeff Shannon
Amazon.com Review for National Treasure: Book of Secrets
Less engrossing than its 2004 predecessor National Treasure, Jon Turteltaub's busy sequel National Treasure: Book of Secrets is nevertheless a colorful and witty adventure, another race against overwhelming odds for the answer to a historical riddle. Ben Gates (Nicolas Cage), the treasure hunter who feverishly sought, in the first film, the whereabouts of a war chest hidden by America's forefathers, is now charged with protecting family honor. When a rival (Ed Harris) offers alleged proof that Gates' ancestor, Thomas Gates, was not a Civil War-era hero but a participant in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, Ben and his father (Jon Voight) and crew (Justin Bartha, Diane Kruger) hopscotch through Paris, London, Washington DC, and South Dakota to gather evidence refuting the claim. The film is most fun when the hunt, as in National Treasure, squeezes Ben into such impossible situations as examining twin desks in the queen's chambers in Buckingham Palace and the White House's Oval Office, or kidnapping an American president (Bruce Greenwood) for a few minutes of frank talk. Helen Mirren, the previous year's Oscar winner for Best Actress, wisely joins the cast of a likely hit film as Ben's archaeologist mother, long-estranged from Voight's character but as feisty as the rest of the family. Returning director Turteltaub takes excellent advantage of his colorful backdrops in European capitals and the always-eerie Mount Rushmore, and oversees some wildly imaginative sets for this dramedy's feverish third act in an audacious and completely unexpected, legendary setting. If National Treasure: Book of Secrets doesn't feel quite as crisp and unique as its predecessor, it is still ingenious and wry enough to laugh a bit at itself. --Tom Keogh Stills from National Treasure: Book of Secrets (click for larger image)
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