Where History Is Not as It Seems

Though it boasts its share of high-tech gadgetry, the landscape depicted in “National Treasure: Book of Secrets” is in many ways sweetly old-fashioned. The plot hinges on one man’s quest to preserve the good name of his great-great-grandfather. The titular treasure is cherished not for its monetary value, but because, as one character exclaims, “This is going to give us incredible insight into pre-Columbian history!” Just as many clues come from dusty history books as from Google. And the president takes an enormous political risk based solely on his insatiable intellectual curiosity. Yes, this is a fantasy world, but it’s an appealing one.The sequel to Disney’s successful “National Treasure” (2004), the new movie brings back Nicolas Cage as Benjamin Franklin Gates, a fifth-generation treasure hunter and puzzle solver. In “Book of Secrets,” the action starts when a rival scholar (Ed Harris ) produces evidence that Gates’s ancestor apparently played a role in President Lincoln’s assassination, contrary to Gates family lore. The hunt is on to crack the code that will absolve the late Gates of the crime and, by the way, uncover the location of a centuries-old “city of gold.”It all hinges on information that is to be found only in the President’s Book of Secrets, a scrapbook in which each American commander in chief writes down his deepest secrets of state, including who assassinated President Kennedy (who wrote it down, President Johnson?) and what’s really going on at Area 51. Like the original film, in which a treasure map was drawn in invisible ink on the back of the Declaration of Independence, this slick and silly movie was produced by Jerry Bruckheimer along with its director, Jon Turteltaub.The chase leads Gates, his parents (Jon Voight and Helen Mirren), ex-girlfriend (Diane Kruger), and wisecracking tech-head sidekick (Justin Bartha) on a whirlwind trip around the world. They make stops at Buckingham Palace, Mount Vernon, the Library of Congress, the White House, and other historical spots. Unbeknownst to the teeming tourists, these sites contain pieces to a continent-spanning puzzle put in motion by, who else, the Freemasons. If it must be mentioned, the “history” is ludicrous throughout.Luckily for the plot, Gates often has “no choice” but to take the most difficult method possible to achieve his goals. One of the most hilariously absurd plot points comes when Gates decides to force the president to hold his own birthday party at Mount Vernon. The only way to do this, apparently, is to spread a rumor through the press that the original party site was a former Ku Klux Klan hotspot and to force the White House to change locations to avoid a scandal. Next, Gates and his team call up every single alternative party location in the Washington, D.C., area and make false reservations for large groups of people. The only party location remaining is Mount Vernon, and voilà! It should also be noted that the party scene opens with Gates wearing a tear-away scuba suit with a pristine tuxedo underneath.Mr. Cage sleepwalks through the role, but even his somnambulant self is offbeat enough that the characterization remains strange and memorable. The same can’t be said of most of the other players, including Ms. Kruger, who struggles mightily to cover up her German accent. Though Mr. Voight seems a bit addled throughout, it’s fun to see him scramble atop a stony ledge, reminiscent of his classic dangerous rock-climb in “Deliverance.” It’s even better to watch him with Ms. Mirren, as they swing together on a vine, à la Tarzan and Jane.“Book of Secrets” will likely attract two kinds of audiences: families with children, and adults who have an appreciation for the film’s shamelessly corny dialogue. The script does its share of expository hand-holding, and many lines begin with “So what you’re saying is …” Like any good treasure hunt, there are diamonds in the muck. Highlights include: “Are you saying there’s a treasure map in the Statue of Liberty?”; “Can you imagine if the Confederates had got their hands on the city of gold?”; and “Mount Rushmore is a cover-up!” The movie is self-conscious about its preposterousness, but it would have been more fun if the screenwriters had pumped out hammy lines like these without having to wink at us. That’s a flaw it shares with films such as “Shrek,” which assume children are sophisticated enough to require commentary on the cheesiness of children’s movies.There is one niggling point that places the film squarely in the 21st century (or perhaps puts this reviewer squarely in the previous one): When the film opens, Gates has recently moved out of the mansion he shared with the girlfriend with whom he spars and sparks. When they reunite in the finale — this should not come as a plot-spoiling surprise — he agrees to move back in with her. In what is essentially a story for children, couldn’t they have just smooched and left the lease a mystery?Ms. Graham is an editor at Domino magazine.

Where History Is Not as It Seems

Where History Is Not as It Seems

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