CINEMA: National Treasure – Book of Secrets
Nic Cage is back as the brainy treasure hunter Ben Gates in this sequel to 2004’s mega-blockbuster. This time he starts off investigating one case concerning his ancestor Thomas Gates, only for the trail to lead to President Lincoln, Queen Victoria and a lost civilisation. He’s helped along the way by his estranged wife Abigail (Diane Kruger), techie nerd Riley (Justin Bartha), his mum (Helen Mirren) and dad (Jon Voight) in a film that starts off busy, busy and from there never stops to pause for breath.
In fact, things get so fast and furious the plot soon ties itself into knots as the action flits from America to London, across to Europe and then back to America. This is a film so involved in moving from one set piece to another the story ends up all over the place, the actors give up on trying to make their characters believable, and the plot becomes just plain stupid.
It’s not just that this is a no brainer, it’s a juddering, confusing, unappealing no brainer. Watching this makes the idea of a new Indiana Jones instalment even more appealing. Dee Pilgrim
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