The Book of how to Overdo a Plot

Rating: 4/10 (29 August 2008)

OK, I am a huge fan of adventure and treasure hunting movies. I love the Indiana Jones's, the Quartermains and I have read every single Dan Brown book despite he won't be winning a Literature Nobel Prize anytime soon.
I loved the first National Treasure movie, too. It had just the right mix of an actual believable plot, action and romance you expect from any good adventure movie.
So, I bought the second one on DVD and expected a bit more of the same. But after finishing it, I can't help but wonder what happened to Hollywood's screenwriters these days.
To be honest, I think a big part of the problem is the (wrong) attitude of some Hollywood executives that sequels always have to top their own predecessors. A plot that was barely believable in the first movie will be utterly ridiculous in the second one. It's what happened with Pirates of the Caribbean, too. The first one was just great, the second a bit overdone, the third just ridiculous.
I can't even try to begin describing how ridiculous NT2's plot is compared to the first movie. The movie starts actually in a promising manner. We're being witness to the assassination of Lincoln, where one of Gates's ancestors is involved (he is forced to analyze a secret code). Back in the present, said ancestor is being connected with the assassination itself, leaving Gates with the urge to clean up his family honor. So far so good - and from here on, the plot goes downhill.
A selection of what happens, written from Gates's perspective:
1. We have to break into Buckingham Palace (that's easy, the Queen can't afford good security) and fumble around with the Queen's Desk(!) to retrieve a clue to the treasure.
2. My ex-girlfriend conveniently appears(!) and helps me committing this little crime (I still wonder why she did that too, since she had next to no motivation for it, her being mad at me and all)
3. My sidekick need only mere seconds to break into the Palace's security system and open doors, set off fire alarms etc. (I am glad to notice that he used Apple computers to do that - I really need to buy one too, if they can do things like that).
4. The bad guy appears and he and I engage in a wild car chase (yes, a car chase - really original, no movie before NT2 ever had one) through half of London (no, there never are traffic jams in central London, so driving there at 100mph is not an issue).
5. I decide that I have to give the bad guys the artifact to get rid of them. But I need to copy the inscriptions first, of course. No problem, since we're driving at 100mph, the next traffic camera will be ready to make a nice photo of the artifact if we only hold it to the windscreen. And we still have our computer whizkid who can hack the police database in 5 seconds to retrieve the photo.
6. Ugh, we need a second artifact now - which is in another desk: This time in the Oval Office. Oh well, we might just break in there while we're at it (the president can't afford good security either, by the way).
7. Alright, a slight problem appears: The artifact is gone from the president's desk. But, hey, the solution is obvious: We just need to kidnap the president (that's not hard, since we already know that he can't afford good security).
8. Problem solved: We just kidnapped the president and since he's a very nice and understanding person he isn't even mad at us for doing so. And since I asked so nicely, he's even willing to let us have the Book of Secrets. Usually only presidents are supposed to see that, but there is always the exception for a polite kidnapper.
9. Tadaa, the name-giving Book of Secrets has its appearance. Only for like a minute or so, though. The bloody police is arriving and I can't even look up who murdered Kennedy!
10. OK, the rest is very easy: My mother is one of the very few persons in the world to know the ancient South American language on those artifacts, so she can translate the inscriptions (aren't we a great family?).
11. It turns out the lost Inca Golden City ended up under Mt. Rushmore (no wonder nobody found it in South America - who carried it up here anyway?).
12. The rest is even easier. After defeating a ridiculous looking trap and tricking the bad guy into getting himself drowned (haha, this guy actually thought I'd keep my word!), we secured the Golden City for my country. I am happy that there was more value in there than in the last pile of jewelry I found. I had to outdo myself, after all.
13. The best thing of all is that my girlfriend wants me to move in with her again. I am sure her tossing me out of our house was just a misunderstanding. Not sure why the screenwriter insisted that she did that in the first place.
Am I really the only one who finds this plot to be slightly inconsistent and overdone?
That all being said, this movie still isn't a complete waste. But you definitely have to switch off your brain while watching it, otherwise it might fry while trying to figure out the logic behind the plot. Because there is none.