Review of National Treasure: Book of Secrets (2007) by Chads. — 03 Jan 2008

Past the mid-way point of "National Treasure: Book of Secrets", Ben(Nicolas Cage) needs a private audience with the president(Bruce Greenwood) so he seals themselves in a secret room much to the chagrin of the secret servicemen.

This extra cloak of privacy hardly seems necessary since one of the president's handlers is asked to wait outside. The two men could whisper. It cheats to force action. To help normalize the preposterous, "National Treasure: Book of Secrets" has to play straight with its audience.

It doesn't. Another instance of convolutional writing takes place at Mt. Vernon when our treasure hunters soak rocks with twelve-ounce litres of bottled water. To make their next clue self-evident, Emily(Helen Mirren) asks aloud, "Do we have to wet the whole area?" I laughed because it sounds like an ad-lib; a grand dame pointing out the fallacy of the scene.

It's dumb luck that Abigail(Diane Kruger) chooses the right rock to wet. Imagine if Ben or Mitch(Ed Harris) insisted they search for the hidden instructions after the last bottle was emptied by using an alternate liquid? But that would be too cheeky for a film that takes itself way too seriously.

Seriously, you wonder how the actors can keep a straight face. This is theater of the absurd.