A tip of the hat to Nicolas Cage.
After the runaway success of “National Treasure,” he showed up to make the sequel, “National Treasure: Book of Secrets,” with a new appreciation for the material and how he should play it.
Every goofy acting excess, every whim turned into a big, scenery- chewing crescendo. The best may be his “fake argument” with his character’s now-ex-girlfriend, the archivist- historian Abigail Chase (Diane Kruger), an argument to distract guards so that he can sneak into Buckingham Palace to look for clues in a desk carved from wood from a 19th-century sailing ship.
“National Treasure: Book of Secrets” is another treasure-hunt travelogue, an “Amazing Race” through pseudo-archaeology and history. In other words, it’s the quintessential Jerry Bruckheimer project. The movie traipses through history the way “Amazing Race” skips by geography on TV — a few fun facts, a serious lack of context and breathless editing that keeps everything exciting.
**1/2 RATING | Action-Adventure
Bruckheimer’s “C.S.I.” franchise is present in the science summoned up to help Benjamin Franklin Gates and his team track traces of a Civil War conspiracy and treasure. And don’t forget the sunglasses. Cage as Gates dons stylish shades almost as many times as David Caruso.
This time the Lincoln assassination is revisited. A Gates family ancestor was involved, something to do with a “Playfair cipher,” a coded message. Cut to the present day, when the Gates family name is dragged through the mud by a Southerner (Ed Harris) with an ax to grind. Maybe the Gates ancestor planned Lincoln’s murder.
“What is history but a marker for the deeds of great men?” Harris drawls. He just wants to make his mark. And cash in.
The Gates men (Jon Voight returns as Ben’s dad) must plunge into a secret Confederate society’s legacy to find evidence that will clear the family name.
Ben’s team, including the ex-girlfriend and his tech-wizard Riley (Justin Bartha), who has published a book on their past exploits, comes together to chase clues from Paris to London, Mount Vernon to Mount Rushmore.
Bad guys come after them with guns. Feds (Harvey Keitel, an FBI agent wearing a most un-FBI satanic goatee) are always a step behind. And tidbits of real history worm their way into a confused script that plays to a climax straight out of the first “National Treasure.”
Ben’s mom, a hard-drinking ancient-languages expert (Helen Mirren) must be consulted. A history- buff president (Bruce Greenwood) must be, um, “kidnapped” and the greatest volume of conspiracy lore in existence, a Book of Secrets, must be plumbed.
Here’s what’s true. There really are “Resolute desks,” carved from the timbers of the HMS Resolute, in the White House and with the Queen of England. There really was a Knights of the Golden Circle, a conspiracy of Southern and Confederate interests during the Civil War. The Playfair cipher was a popular code during the Civil War.
Which is to say that as hammy as Cage, Voight and the rest can be, and as cheesy as this story certainly is, it’s wonderful how much real history they sandwich into this ham and cheese on wry.
“National Treasure: Book of Secrets”
PG for some violence and action. 2 hours 4 minutes. Directed by Jon Turteltaub. Starring Nicolas Cage, Ed Harris, Jon Voight, Helen Mirren, Justin Bartha, Diane Kruger and Bruce Greenwood. Opens today at area theaters.
