Amazon.com
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)
Product Description
National Treasure: From Jerry Bruckheimer, producer of PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN, comes the definitive NATIONAL TREASURE. Get closer to the edge of your seat with the 2-Disc Collector's Edition Blu-ray of this thrilling adventure starring Academy Award(R) Winners Jon Voight (Best Actor, COMING HOME, 1978) and Nicolas Cage (Best Actor, LEAVING LAS VEGAS, 1995) as Benjamin Franklin Gates. Since boyhood, Gates has been obsessed with finding the legendary Knights Templar Treasure, the greatest fortune known to man. As he tries to find and decipher ancient riddles that will lead him to it, Gates is dogged by a ruthless enemy (Sean Bean, THE LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy). Now in a race against time, Gates must steal one of America's most sacred and guarded documents -- the Declaration of Independence -- or let it, and a key clue to the mystery, fall into dangerous hands. Heart-pounding chases, close calls and the FBI turn Gates' quest into a high-stakes crime caper and the most exciting treasure hunt you've ever experienced, now with a treasure trove of new special features
National Tresure 2- Book of Secrets:
Join Nicolas Cage on a heart-pounding adventure that will have you on the edge of your seat in a race to find the Lost City of Gold. Grounded in history, imbued with myth and mystery, Disney's NATIONAL TREASURE 2: BOOK OF SECRETS takes you on a globe-trotting quest full of adrenaline-pumping twists and turns -- all leading to the final clue in a mysterious and highly guarded book containing centuries of secrets. But there's only one way to find it -- Ben Gates must kidnap the President. Packed with fast-paced action and crackling humor, NATIONAL TREASURE 2: BOOK OF SECRETS is a movie your entire family will want to rediscover again and again
|
Click on Product Listings for Details!
National Treasure / National Treasure 2 - Book of Secrets [Blu-ray] (Amazon.com Exclusive)
- Blu-ray: 0 pages (2008-05-20)
- Publisher: Buena Vista Home Entertainment / Touchstone
- Label: Buena Vista Home Entertainment / Touchstone
- Encoding: Region 1
- Format: Dolby, Surround Sound
- Rated: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
- Studio: Buena Vista Home Entertainment / Touchstone
- DVD Release Date: 2008-05-20
- Run Time: 256
- Average Customer Review:
 based on 238 reviews
- Sales Rank in DVD: #219
Avg. Customer Review:
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Truly a National Treasure 2008-07-06
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!
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating:
Summary: Good, but not as good as the first. 2008-07-06
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".
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Suffers badly from sequel-itis 2008-07-05
Comment: The first "National Treasure" was a romp, but this sequel tries a little too hard. Nicholas Cage repeats his role as the irrepressible treasure hunter, Benjamin Gates, with Jon Voight as his father. Ed Harris is the bad guy who changes character at the end (a Disney requirement, probably), and Harvey Keitel is pretty good as the FBI agent. Helen Mirren, unfortunately, is forgetable as Ben's mother. The plot has to do with the truth behind the Lincoln assassination (was Ben's ancestor a Booth co-conspirator?) and the search for the golden city of Cibola. The key to it all is "the President's secret book," handed down from each chief executive to the next, and containing the truth of various historical mysteries. Even for this sort of Indiana Jones-ish adventure, it's all rather absurd.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating:
Summary: Very Entertaining. 2008-07-05
Comment: I really enjoyed this sequel to National Treasure despite what some of the critics said.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating:
Summary: National Treasure 2; Book of Serets 2008-07-04
Comment: Just when I thought we'd get a GOOD sequel, (Why did I even think that??), out comes another, "been there, done that..." This is just too predictable.
No detail like the first movie provided so well. Characters... no development... just chases, impossible situations and burns.... I could go on and on... I'd been more content just enjoying the first movie...and never knowing how poor the second one is.........
|
DVD 
![National Treasure / National Treasure 2 - Book of Secrets [Blu-ray] (Amazon.com Exclusive)](http://www.jungleshop.com/prod_images2/51W21duUMxL._SL160_.jpg "National Treasure / National Treasure 2 - Book of Secrets [Blu-ray] (Amazon.com Exclusive)")
Enlarge View
![Jumper [Blu-ray]](http://www.jungleshop.com/prod_images/B001794FOK.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg "Jumper [Blu-ray]")
![The Golden Compass [Blu-ray]](http://www.jungleshop.com/prod_images/B00139XZF4.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg "The Golden Compass [Blu-ray]")
![The Spiderwick Chronicles [Blu-ray]](http://www.jungleshop.com/prod_images/B0018QCXHI.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg "The Spiderwick Chronicles [Blu-ray]")
![10,000 B.C. [Blu-ray]](http://www.jungleshop.com/prod_images/B0017U7PT6.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg "10,000 B.C. [Blu-ray]")
![The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep [Blu-ray]](http://www.jungleshop.com/prod_images/B0012IWRDM.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg "The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep [Blu-ray]")
