Random, stupid sequel

Rating: 3/10 (17 January 2016)

The first NATIONAL TREASURE was your usual clichÃ©d Hollywood adventure, a cheap-in-ideas but big-in-budget Dan Brown knock-off with little to remember it by. This sequel is even worse, saddled as it is with unbelievable situations, random character motivations, and one of the dullest plot lines ever (in which Nicolas Cage's character must prove the innocence of one of his historical ancestors).
In a film where the stakes are so low, everything seems artificial, from Diane Kruger's shoehorned-in love interest to Ed Harris's token bad guy. Jon Voight is a little better as Cage's dad, but the two of them are too obviously going for a Harrison Ford/Sean Connery relationship as in INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE, and it doesn't really gel. Still, Harvey Keitel is always a pleasure to see on screen, even though Helen Mirren gets right up my nose.
The film's globetrotting antics are where this film becomes particularly ridiculous, especially in its need to do cool and goofy things: let's break into Buckingham Palace (so easily), let's kidnap the President. As mentioned, it all feels very random and stupid, and Cage's overacting doesn't help; the scenes where he plays funny/crazy really are excruciating. I blame the Disney influence.