Utterly enjoyable blockbuster with a sprinkling of entertaining nonsense.

Rating: 7/10 (20 December 2007)

A sequel is something that is never needed, unless continuing a specific story arc, so a sequel to 2004's National Treasure is without a doubt an unnecessary venture. Basically, this film is a take it or leave it kind of entertainment, though if you enjoyed the original, this one won't disappoint.
Picking up a few years after the events of National Treasure, we find Ben Gates (Nicholas Cage) living with his father (Jon Voight) after being booted out of his own house by girlfriend Abigail Chase (Diane Kruger). Riley Poole (Justin Bartha) has written a book that no-one wants to read and has had his beloved Ferrari towed. Life is hard for our characters, but you can be sure that a new treasure hunt will take place sometime in the next two hours to give them a new equilibrium to look forward to.
From the rousing opening scene depicting the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, we are thrown into a non-stop whirlwind of globe trotting and treasure seeking. We find out that a man named Wilkinson (Ed Harris) is in possession of a lost page from the diary of John Wilkes Booth which suggests Thomas Gates' involvement in the conspiracy. Thomas Gates is great, great grandfather to Benjamin Gates so naturally Gates will do anything to clear his family name.
There are quite a few familiar faces from the first film in this second outing, right down to Harvey Keitel and Jon Voight, and all seem to be having a great deal of fun with this enjoyable nonsense. Cage is at his crazy best, be it running from rival treasure hunters or staging a hilarious argument with his ex girlfriend in the middle of Buckingham Palace, he's unrestrained and is allowed to go wild which is exactly the kind of thing this movie needs. It saved Ghost Rider from being anything less than diverting, anyway. Justin Bartha's return as the wisecracking sidekick, still cracking wise, is either annoying or charming, depending which way you lean. Diane Kruger is still beautiful and has great timing, the only thing that really elevates her from her eye-candy position. Helen Mirren also makes an appearance here in a role that she didn't really need, but she looks like she's enjoying herself anyhow. She serves simply to squabble with Jon Voight as Cage squabbles with Kruger, which doesn't amount to anything more than a few extra comedic elements. Ed Harris plays a carbon copy of Sean Bean's role in the original, which in itself was a cardboard cutout bad guy role. It's not essential for the antagonist to be particularly formidable in these movies, sneering will do, but Harris' supposed ambiguity is a real weak point in the script. It's a waste considering Harris has experience in this area, what with The Rock and A History of Violence under his belt, but here he doesn't manage to be a particularly memorable or well drawn character.
It feels like the two films were made back to back. The energy is still the same, all the actors seem like they never took a break, right down to the musical score, shooting style and Cage's toupeé. If it ain't broke, don't fix. It's maybe not as tight as the first film, allowing a little flab to get in, mainly towards the middle and again during the finale, but it doesn't last very long and soon we're back in full flow again. The outcome of the clues is of course preposterous and on too large a scale to simply dismiss, the contrivance of the treasure resting place too familiar, but this at least doesn't diminish the overall fun of the flick.
Of the two treasure hunting movies to come off the back of Dan Brown's novel The Da Vinci Code, National Treasure was always the more fun, beating the other movie hands down, even though it was directed by Ron Howard and actually was The Da Vinci Code. This second instalment doesn't want to do anything more than the same and, against all the odds, they churned out a crowd pleasing thrill ride of pure entertainment. It's a tad smarter, funnier and more endearing than the average blockbuster (especially when looking back at 2007) and the action, while by the numbers, doesn't disappoint either. For a fun night out, it's a sure thing, if almost instantly forgettable. If this movie does well, a loose end in the plot promises yet another sequel. Do we need it? No. Will it be as good? Probably not. Will we see it? Quite possibly, because we never learn.