National Treasure / National Treasure 2 - Book of Secrets [Blu-ray]

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Studio: Walt Disney Video
Category: DVD

List Price: ~~$69.98~~
Buy New: $39.99
You Save: $29.99 (43%)

Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars

67 reviews
Sales Rank: 5

Format: Dolby, Surround Sound
Languages: English (Original Language), French (Original Language)
Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: Blu-ray
Number Of Items: 2
Running Time: 256
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6

UPC: 786936770902
EAN: 0786936770902

Theatrical Release Date: December 21, 2007
Release Date: May 20, 2008 (In 7 Days)
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Not yet released

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Editorial Reviews:

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

Customer Reviews: Read 62 more reviews...

3 out of 5 stars

Not So Treasured... May 10, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful

A couple years ago, National Treasure had me with the conspiracy theories, clues that lead to more clues, creepy and very brittle underground architecture, and lots of treasure...

The best way to describe the sequel is like this:

National Treasure=National Treasure 2

"Book of Secrets" features more conspiracies, more clues that lead to more clues, and even more brittle sub-ground architecture... taking care not to stray too much from the first "Treasure." Not to say none of it is original, as there are plenty of surprises and funny jokes yet unused. However, the movie doesn't take any steps forward from it's predescessor. In fact, since we left Ben, Abigail and Riley, they all seem to have taken several steps backward.

"Secrets" is pretty much the first movie told a bit differently, with a couple different characters. Yet as you watch, you may feel that it seems vaguely familiar, like you saw it last time you popped "Treasure 1" into your DVD player.

If you liked the first NT, you will probably find Book of Secrets entertaining, maybe even memorable...for me, however, I would have liked to see them vary a little more from that old formula that made the first movie what it was.

2xNational Treasure doesn't neccasarily = twice as good...

4 out of 5 stars

I am waiting May 9, 2008
I preordered it, I saw it in the movies and thought it was pretty good. I also watched Full Circleand loved it! Lots of cool movies coming out! I guess with the strike and all.

5 out of 5 stars

Awesome!!!! May 6, 2008
I disagree with Amazon on this one. I thought this movie was just as engrossing as the first one and just as imformative!!!! I loved the location shoots in Paris & Mt. Rushmore. If you liked the first one you will love this one!!

4 out of 5 stars

Decent sequel, tries to keep up.... May 5, 2008
Movie sequels tend to be cursed with high expectations and seeing as to how National Treasure was a roaring hit, the expectations on part 2 would be equally high, Although the plot as such was relatively well written, it was the acting and too many details left to the viewers imaginations that fell short on this movie.

After the civil war, The movies starts with Thomas Gates and his son in a pub, shortly prior to the Lincoln assassination when John W. Booth and another associate meet Thomas Gates inside an inn to help them resolve a cipher/ a code to gain entry to a city of gold for the KGC (a southern extremist group at that time dedicated to maintaining the confederacy), While Thomas Gates thwarts their attempt at trying to destroy the clue to the treasure, his name comes up in a diary that lists out all the people involved in the assassination and years later, at present day he (Thomas Gates) is also named among the conspirators to kill Lincoln.
Ben Gates now follows this to prove his ancestor's innocence and maintain that his ancestor is actually a hero.

While, the sequence of events keeps you interested, the good part they have adopted is the similar thought process they used in National Treasure 1, the different clues and how they go after each puzzle to resolve the same. The only strange part is for starters the roles played by Ed Harris and to an extent by Helen Mirren, which leaves little to be noted and does not give a deeper background into their characters and yes.... sigh, Riley is still trying to get laid..

Whilst owning it would be for die hard fans only, a rental is definitely worth it and good family fun.

Note: Contrary to some folks finding it absurd, i rather found Cage's british impersonation to be funny! (Scene at Buckingham)

3 out of 5 stars

Review of actual DVD: So-so movie, GREAT extras! NO GOOFY! May 3, 2008
2 out of 4 found this review helpful

On the movie: I am just not a big fan of this series so far. I am a history buff and was really wanting to enjoy this movie; like the first one, the same flaws remain in #2. Nicolas Cage is just bad casting. It is difficult to like him. However, the supporting cast is fantastic; Diane Kruger as his love interest Abigail and Justin Bartha as the sidekick are happily on board for this installment, as well as Jon Voigt as Ben Gates' (Cage) dad. Helen Mirren is a welcome addition to the cast as Ben's mom who still carries much bitterness for her ex (Voigt).
This time, the catalyst for the treasure hunt is the recent accusation that Ben's great-great-grandfather was part of the plot to murder President Lincoln. This leads to a search for the Presidential Book of Secrets which leads to trying to find the Lost City of Gold. This time the film goes international; London, Paris...but even with some exotic locales, the film just does not generate the excitement that it should.

Although this film attempts to pattern itself after Hitchcock (stated by Director Turteltaub himself on the commentary), it fails. There are many fantastic individual scenes that just don't gel together as a whole. Hitchcock was a master at elevating and dropping the audience with suspense and hot romance ("North by Northwest" is a classic example); not so here. Cage may be trying to channel Cary Grant (again as Turteltaub tells it) but he comes nowhere near close; and even though I truly like Diane Kruger, her chemistry with Cage is not like Grace Kelly & Grant of old. The leaps to clues and the thought processes behind them are just as hard to believe as before; you REALLY need to suspend disbelief to buy into this movie. Ed Harris as the villain is a poorly written character; selfish and rotten throughout, his last minute redemption is hard to believe.

Now to the DVD itself; picture/audio are fantastic (especially if you have a surround sound system). The extras are also excellent. Mercifully, Disney decided not to put all the hunt and peck methods that were on the National Treasure One DVD. This time, you just pop in Disc 2 and access whatever you want to see. Disc 1 has commentary by Voigt & Turteltaub. Even Voigt comments on the fact that most likely nobody else was available for the commentary; still, it is interesting to hear the behind-the-scenes stories. The deleted scenes were trimmed for the right reasons; a film that jumps around like this one needs tight editing, and the scenes shown here really don't add at all. One of my fave extras is "Inside the Library of Congress" which shows some of the rare collection there (photos of John Wilkes Booth and the men being hung for the Lincoln murder). "Cover Story: Crafting the President's Book" shows how the actual book was created for the movie and the attention to detail that makes it look authentic. "Knights of the Golden Circle" left me wanting much more; it is a very short featurette talking about the real-life group of people who wanted to keep slavery going and annex Mexico; their need for gold/money thwarted their efforts. "Evolution of a Golden City": this one will surprise you for two reasons: to see just how much was actually built as a set, and then to see what was created by CGI (the ability to create objects that appear to be handled by actors shows just how far this technology has come). "Treasure Reel: Bloopers & Outtakes" is the usual assortment of guffaws that show errors and cast camaraderie. "The Book of Secrets: On Location" is a wonderful travelogue of all the different locations, describing what was actually shot on location and what was CGI. Turteltaub/Bruckehimer definitely pushed the limits of trying to use the real spots, often thwarted by regulations, especially in DC at the White House (snipers on the roof of the White House?!? ouch!). Very interesting to watch the "rehearsals" of the chase sequence in the "Street Stunts" featurette. "Underground Action" shows the behind-the scenes for the City of Gold and the Balancing Platform, achieved through the use of a gimbal. "Secrets Of A Sequel" talks about the thought process behind coming up with this installment and the importance of reuniting the original cast and crew. Overall on these extras, there is much talking about how the ending and much of the script was made up along the way. This really comes as no surprise, and confirms for me that had there been more planning, a cohesive resulting plot would have made a much better film. Easter Eggs: Including a conversation about Beverly Hills High School with fellow alums Nic Cage and Jo Turteltaub, and a look at the White House lawn scene as filmed in front of a blue screen .

So-so film that is watchable; just a real bummer that some more story planning wasn't done ahead of time. The DVD itself is excellent and a marked improvement over the first.

NOTE: Although many reviewers have referred to the Goofy cartoon that was shown in the theaters, it is not on this DVD, unless there is some extra-hidden Easter Egg. Always a danger in reviewing a DVD BEFORE you see the actual DVD. Sorry folks, you'll have to find Goofy somewhere else!