"National Treasure: Book of Secrets" Great Film Fun

Yesterday, I saw my first movie in months - - "National Treasure: Book of Secrets," starring Nicholas Cage. It is a sequel to his highly popular National Treasure film of a couple years' back.

Cage once again played Ben Gates, a man who comes from a long line of history buffs. They also just so happen to focus their efforts on treasure hunting. As the movie opens, Ben and his father Patrick (played by veteran actor Jon Voight) are giving a lecture about their ancestor, Thomas Gates, and his role in trying to prevent the Confederacy from locating the Lost City of Gold.

During their lecture, however, Mitch Wilkinson (played by Ed Harris) pops up to present a different theory on the story. He contends that Thomas Gates was in cahoots with John Wilkes Booth and a list of others in the assassination of President Lincoln. Worst of all, he presents a diary page that seems to authenticate that claim.

With his father devastated to have the Gates name, once again, drug through the mud, Ben decides to prove the theory wrong. This, of course, sets him off on another adventure; one that eventually leads him, his ex-girlfriend Abigail (played by Diane Kruger), and best friend Riley (played by Justin Bartha) to Paris, London, and then back to the U.S. Of course, Wilkinson, who set the whole conspiracy theory up in order to get Gates to lead him to the city of gold, is along for the ride.

I'm not going to give much more of the movie away because it would spoil all of the fun. This isn't a great groundbreaking film, but it isn't meant to be. It is, however, fun and entertaining for those who enjoyed the first National Treasure. If you didn't like that movie, you won't like this one. On the other hand, if the first one was your cup of tea, this one is almost as much fun.

Nicholas Cage often doesn't get the credit he deserves as an actor. I like him. I enjoy almost all of his films. I doubt he will ever go down in history with the likes of Humphrey Bogart or Clark Gable, but I wouldn't have a problem with it if he did. I think he does what he does in his films with the best of them.