National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets on Blu-ray Disc Review
By Brandon A. DuHamel
The Film
In this sequel to 2004's
National Treasure, the same cast of characters are brought back in what basically amounts to a clone of the original with a different treasure to find. This time Ben Gates (Nicolas Cage) and his father Patrick Gates (Jon Voight) are on a mission to clear the name of their ancestor Thomas Gates, who has been accused of being involved with The Knights of the Golden Circle in the plot to assassinate President Lincoln.
As the two Gates men have always maintained that their forefather was actually trying to protect the U.S. and hide a great treasure from the KGC, they naturally deem it their duty to find the treasure, and clear Thomas' name. The treasure turns out to be Cíbola, the legendary lost city of gold hidden somewhere in North America. In a plot that mirrors the first film almost exactly, they must find it before Mitch Wilkinson (Ed Harris) does. Wilkinson, as it turns out, is the very same man who came forward with evidence suggesting that Thomas Gates helped assassinate Lincoln.
So Ben and Patrick Gates, along with their trusty partners Abigail Chase (Diane Kruger) and Riley Poole (Justin Bartha) set off to find Cíbola with Wilkinson watching their every move, always one step behind them, just as the villain from the first film. Instead of keeping them strictly in the United States, this time around, the clues lead them briefly to Paris and London. Instead of the outrageous idea of stealing the U.S. Declaration of Independence, Ben Gates now must not only get into the Queen's study in Buckingham Palace and the Oval Office in the White House in order to examine the Resolute desks -- a task which he accomplishes with a ridiculous amount of ease -- but he must also briefly kidnap the President of the United States to obtain the location of a long-rumored "President's secret book," that he needs in order to solve a clue to lead him to Cíbola.
It is clear that the filmmakers, instead of trying to write an original storyline for this follow-up, took the easy way out and went for more outrageous, rather than more believable. Even the action sequences have been stepped up in this film; whereas the first film featured a foot chase throughout Philadelphia, its sequel gets a high-speed car chase through the crowded streets of London, where not a single pedestrian is run over, mind you. Have these people ever actually been to London?
In the end,
Book of Secrets plays more like a needless remake rather than a bona fide sequel, but it shouldn't be surprising. The first film was quite shallow in its storyline, and this one is even worse. There are far better action or mystery films out there; let's hope they don't turn this into a trilogy.
The Picture
Appearing on this Blu-ray Disc in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 2.40:1 in a high definition 1080p/24 AVC/MPEG-4 video transfer, the encoding maintains a high level of fine detail and a superb film-like quality. The source appears to be in a slightly better condition than that of its predecessor, National Treasure, but the transfers are quite similar nonetheless. Grain is well represented and consistent throughout, but black levels are still set a little too dark, losing a bit of detail in the darkest of scenes. Contrast is good, and flesh tones are more natural than the previous film, with the slight red push gone. There are no apparent compression artifacts, making this a superb transfer apart from the minor black crush.
The Sound
English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 (48kHz/24-bit) and English, French, and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtracks are available on this release. I listened to the lossless TrueHD soundtrack for the purposes of this review, and it was competent, but not excellent. Similar to the mix for
National Treasure, the 5.1 mix for
Book of Secrets is mainly focused on the front three channels, only opening up more and allowing the rear channels and LFE to really come alive during the film's more action intensive sequences, such as the car chase through the streets of London. In the latter, for instance, many discrete sounds are panned into the rear and to the sides, such as screeching tires, explosions and crowd noise.
Otherwise, it is a very subdued mix, with the rear ambience being mixed somewhat low and only the occasional discrete sounds being noticeable in the rear channels. Dialogue, heavily weighted to the center channel, is clear, well recorded, and never lost in the fray of the louder scenes. Dynamics are slightly more restrained than on the mix for the first National Treasure film, but this is a good thing.
The Extras
This disc offers a wealth of extras, all in 1080i or 1080p high definition, staying mainly with the typical behind the scenes fare, but there is the additional Bonus View (Profile 1.1) extra that offers an additional, interactive in-movie experience to those with players capable of accessing it.
- Book of History: The Fact and Fiction of National Treasure: Book of Secrets
- A Bonus View (Profile 1.1) PiP interactive game of sorts that lets the viewer play along during the film and guess which historical references in Book of Secrets are fact and which are fiction. Only users with Profile 1.1 enabled Blu-ray players such as the PS3 or Panasonic DMP-BD30 and others will be able to access this feature.
- Deleted Scenes (2.40:1/HD)
- Seven deleted scenes with introductions from director JonTurteltaub.
- The Treasure Reel: Bloopers and Outtakes (1.78:1; 2.40:1/HD)
- Secrets of a Sequel (1.78:1/HD)
- The cast and filmmakers discuss coming together to create the sequel to National Treasure.
- The Book of Secrets: On Location (1.78:1/HD)
- In this featurette, the cast and filmmakers discuss their enjoyment filming on location at historic sites in Europe and the United States.
- Street Stunts: Creating the London Chase (1.78:1/HD)
- A behind-the-scenes featurette about the film's London car chase scene; the filmmakers and the special effects crew discuss the dangers involved in creating the scene, and the difficulties they faced in coordinating the shoot on location on London's busy streets.
- Inside the Library of Congress (1.78:1/HD)
- A brief exploration of the library, its architecture, function, and historical significance to the United States.
- Underground Action (1.78:1/HD)
- The actors and filmmakers talk about the action sequences, the set, and special effects involved in the film's closing scenes.
- Cover Story: Crafting the President's Book (1.78:1/HD)
- A discussion of the legend of the President's secret book and also the designing of the prop for the film.
- Evolution of a Golden City (1.78:1/HD)
- Set designers discuss how they designed the set of The City of Gold for the film.
- Knights of the Golden Circle (1.78:1/HD)
- Brief documentary about the U.S. Civil War-era extremist group whose goal was to annex a "golden circle" of territories in Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean and the Southern United States and set up U.S.-like republic based on slave labor. The KGC feature prominently in Book of Secrets as the conspirators who plotted to assassinate President Lincoln.
- Easter Eggs
- There are a few "easter eggs" on this disc that I uncovered. If you'd rather find them for yourself, stop reading now.
- Under Bonus Features, using the directional keys on your remote, scroll to Deleted Scenes and highlight Pursuit at Rushmore; press "right" then "select."
- Under Bonus Features, highlight The Book of Secrets: on Location; press "right" then "up" and "select."
- Under Bonus Features, highlight Street Stunts Creating the London Chase; press "right" then "select."
- Under Bonus Features, highlight Evolution of a Golden City; press "right" then "select."
Final Thoughts
National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets doesn't offer much different from the first film; the plot is basically identical, with a few of the names and the faces changed. This Blu-ray Disc release, however, is of a high caliber for audio and video, as is typical for Disney as well as a decent package of extras. So, I will paraphrase what I said for the first film, if you'd like some mindless entertainment for the weekend, this is the popcorn movie for you. It just may be even more silly than the first, so be warned.
Where to Buy
Product Details
- Actors: Nicolas Cage, Justin Bartha, Diane Kruger, Jon Voight, Helen Mirren, Ed Harris, Harvey Keitel
- Directore: John Turteltaub
- Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen
- Audio/Languages: English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 (48kHz/24-bit), English, French, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1.
- Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
- Region: A
- Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
- Number of discs: 1
- Rating: PG
- Studio: WALT DISNEY VIDEO
- Blu-ray Disc Release Date: May 20, 2008
- Run Time: 124 minutes
- List Price: $34.99
- Extras:
- Book of History: the Fact and Fiction of National Treasure: Book of Secrets
- 2 additional deleted scenes with intorductions by director Jon Turteltaub
- Deleted scenes with introductions by Jon Turteltaub
- Audio Commentary with director Jon Turteltaub and actor Jon Voight
- Secrets of a Legend
- The Book of Secrets: On Location
- Street Stunts: Creating the London Chase
- Inside the Library of Congress
- Underground Action
- Cover Story: Crafting the President's Book
- Evolution of a Golden City
- Knights of the Golden Circle
