More of the good stuff from the first one, unfortunately the flaws from the original are still there too.

Rating: 5/10 (12 January 2008)

National Treasure 2 is definitely as good as it's predecessor, which can be said about almost no other sequels. Then again, I think the original was entertaining enough but a too clichéd Disney movie. I pretty much feel the same way about this movie. Pretty predictable & clichéd and not that well acted. Maybe I'm just starting to dislike Nicolas Cage after the recent debacles Ghost Rider, Next and The Wicker Man.
The riddles were fun and original, but I thought the whole concept of the tour through Europe's and America's touristic sites became a little stupid after a while (just like in the first one). It feels like a lot of the film was just product placement and promotion of tourism. Also, the movie seemed to reek of right wing nationalism...Disney movies are not supposed to be political are they.
Another reason why I think the National Treasure movies fail is...the inevitable comparison with the Indiana Jones trilogy, which is in a totally other cinematic class. The film should be compared to films like Indiana Jones and The Da Vinci code since it does borrow a thing or two (understatement). National treasure comes out poorly in the comparisons and therefore is...mediocre.
Anyway, I'm nitpicking here. The film does exactly what it's supposed to do...entertain. I do have one advice...watch it in the cinema. It's a popcorn flick that really isn't gonna be the same when you watch it at home. 5.4/10 is a fair score for an entertaining yet flawed movie. I hope people can be fair and not bash my comment, just because I ended up giving it a 5. IMDb points are not like tests results in school, 5 is a score for an average movie, not 7 like a lot of people seem to assume.