The last time Nicholas Cage and Ed Harris starred in a film together, I believe it was the 1996 action thriller The Rock, produced by none other than the great Jerry Bruckheimer. Though Cage and Bruckheimer have collaborated on many blockbusters since The Rock, such as Con Air (1997), Gone in Sixty Seconds (2000) and the first National Treasure (2004), Ed Harris was not involved. That is until now, when he was invited to star opposite Nicholas Cage in the sequel to the highly successful National Treasure.

The film opens with the night of Lincoln’s assassination and covers another death that was greatly overshadowed by that of the Presidents: the death of Thomas Gates. Gates died after decoding a message given to him in a diary by a pair of men, one of whom was John Wilkes Booth, Lincoln’s would-be assassin. Unbeknownst to Gates was that the two men were Confederate loyalists, and when he does find out, it is only after he has decoded the message, which was a clue to a treasure map. However before he hands over the diary, the uproar caused by the news of Lincoln’s death, provides a chance for Gates to destroy the clue by tearing out the pages and throwing them into the fire, though a page was retrieved by the Confederate loyalist after shooting Gates. The movie then jumps to the present day, with Ben Gates (Nicholas Cage) and his father Patrick Gates (Jon Voight) retelling that event at a conference on Civilian Heroes of the Civil War. However, the great applause that the Gates received is interrupted by a man, Mitch Wilkinson (Ed Harris), who claims to possess the page that was retrieved by the Confederate loyalist and that that page lists Thomas Gates as the mastermind behind Lincoln’s assassination. This sends Ben Gates on a quest to clear his great-great grandfather’s name, and the only way to do so is to find the treasure that Thomas Gates was asked to help find by decoding the message from the diary.

The film brings back the cast from the first film, including Justin Bartha as Riley Poole, Diane Kruger as Abigail Chase and Harvey Keitel as FBI Agent Peter Sadusky. National Treasure 2 also introduces us to new characters, most notably Emily Appleton Gates, Ben Gates mother played by the lovely Helen Mirren who absolutely shines in her role. Though Nicholas Gates is the main star of the film, I found that Justin Bartha stole the show with his role as Gates’ sidekick Riley Poole, with his quirky one liners and wit, making him probably the most likeable character. I should say that I did not have any high expectations for this film, as I had not seen the first one, nor did I want to as it didn’t really seem that good. So I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was rather good. It was constantly exciting and thrilling throughout the whole film and never really lost pace with slow scenes where the dialogue was sidetracked from the plot of the film. The film has this inexplicable way of drawing the viewer into it, making the audience feel as the actors feel in the film. There was a scene where they were in one of the highest floors of the Library of Congress where I actually felt vertigo. Furthermore, this film is still understandable for those who have not seen the first one (people such as myself), as it is a separate storyline and the only connection between this film and the previous are the characters. Though the last film that had Nicholas Cage, Ed Harris and Jerry Bruckheimer in the credits had large scale machinegun battles, frequent coarse language and VX Nerve Gas, this film does not, though that could mainly be attributed to this being marketed more towards children. Though that doesn’t mean this film is not enjoyable to adults as it still death defying car chases and life threatening booby traps.

Janson Says: National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets comes out on June 4th on DVD and is an enthralling and riveting film that never lets go and makes you clench the sides of your seat as you follow Ben Gates and his team trot around the globe in search of a grand treasure that will not only clear Thomas Gates’ name but also change the world. It can be easily understood why this film reached number one in the U.S. Box Office and why many are hailing it as the “Indiana Jones for today’s generation.”

Tags: action thriller, applause, blockbusters, ed harris, great grandfather, heroes of the civil war, jerry bruckheimer, john wilkes booth, jon voight, justin bartha, loyalists, mastermind, national treasure, nicholas cage, patrick gates, present day, sixty seconds, thomas gates, uproar, wilkinson
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