for Excitingly Questionable Accuracy and Fun
Much like the first movie, they take a bunch of historical facts, throw in a bunch of historical sounding fiction, make a few conspiratorial leaps and run with it. If you liked the first one, you’ll love the second one. More after the break. Oh, and spoilers too.
So, last time we found a map on the back of the Declaration of Independence and a gigantic Freemason conspiracy to hide the greatest treasure known to man. The two most fun elements of the movie were the exciting Indiana Jones style puzzles and adventure coupled with a bunch of historical facts.
The second movie in the National Treasure franchise is no different. This time we begin with one of the Gates family ancestors being inducted in some sort of “Heroes of History” museum collection for the part he played in foiling the efforts of the Knights of the Golden Circle, supposedly the group responsible for the assassination of President Lincoln who were trying to help the Confederacy rise again. Then a guy comes forward with one of the missing pages of Booth’s diary that reportedly implicates the Gates ancestor as a co-conspirator.
Of course, the Gates family can’t have that, and the team is off running again trying to prove the innocence of the family lineage. This time they involve such things as the Statue of Liberty, a pair of desks (one belonging to the Queen of England and the other is the desk the President of the United States uses in the Oval Office), and Mount Rushmore.
Oh, and a lost Native American city of gold.
See, this time, Booth and the other KGC were trying to find the city of gold to fund the Confederacy. Nope, can’t have a treasure hunt without a gigantic treasure at the end.
My tone so far may seem like I’m dissing the film, which wouldn’t make sense since I gave it a 12 out of 13. The fun of this film is the same two elements from the first film: adventure coupled with a bunch of historical facts… then stirred in with a bunch of historical fiction and a few conspiracy theories, ignore any flaws of logic, turn off your brain and hold on to the seat.
To add to the film, Helen Mirren appears as mama Gates. She and Jon Voight make quite the pair on screen, and are a joy to watch, especially as the situations become more absurd. And with Ed Harris as the bad guy, the man is one of those people who can switch from slime to charm at the turn of a phrase, and when he wants to he can pull off a heroic aura, even when he’s not being so heroic.
This movie gets a 12 because it is pure fun. And family fun at that.