National Treasure - Book of Secrets (Blu-ray Disc)

Just as the first film benefits from the upgrade in video and audio quality, National Treasure: Book of Secrets does as well. Both films are ripe with warm yellows against rich black backgrounds and on Blu-ray this makes the scenes pop off the screen. Unfortunately, while I enjoyed it in the theaters to the tune of a "B+" the film certainly hasn't grown on me. I tried twice to watch this thing the whole way through and failed both times. Then I gave it a shot with the Blu-ray exclusive trivia track on... that was even harder. Suffice to say, this is one film that doesn't stand up to multiple viewings.

Book of Secrets once again joins Nic Cage as Ben Gates, a treasure hunter we watched deface the Declaration of Independence in the first film and this time around he must kidnap the President of the United States in an effort to gain access to his special Book of Secrets, which hold the secrets to all of our nation's most historical events. The book just may hold the key to not only clear a Gates family member from being blamed as one of the conspirators in the assassination of President Lincoln, but it may also lead to the lost City of Gold.

It's an fun premise and just as absurd as the first film, but for some reason it is just too much as I run out of steam about 90 minutes in and there are still 30 to go. I am not sure if I ever once actually saw the credits roll and Lord knows I tried.

Cage is just as dimwitted and dreadful as he always is. Bartha is just as charming as he was in the first film and Diane Kruger is just a joy to look at and on top of that she is a fine actress. The additional screen time allotted Jon Voight in this film does nothing for the story and the addition of Helen Mirren as Ben's mom is a side story they could have easily avoided in an effort to tighten up the narrative.

As for the special features the Blu-ray exclusive trivia track actually isn't that bad. The only reason I don't think I finished it was because it was my third time trying to watch the blasted film and I was just plain tired of it. How it works is it will ask you a series of questions as the film goes along and it will keep track of your score as you go. It's fun and there is a lot to learn including pop-up historical facts and mini-video features.

There is an audio commentary in which Jon Turteltaub yacks and yacks while Jon Voight is quiet in the background along with your traditional gag reels and throw-away featurettes.

I wouldn't be surprised if the majority of folks out there would enjoy watching National Treasure 2 repeated times, but I can't recommend this disc based on that idea since I can't. My best bet for you would be to give it a rental first and see how it sits with you. It may be one of those films you like once and don't really need to see again. That's where it sits for me.