High Def Forum - Your High Definition Community & High Definition Resource - View Single Post - My Thoughts On...NATIONAL TREASURE 2: BOOK OF SECRETS (Disney)

Peter Marlowe · 10-27-2008, 03:25 AM

You know what the worst part of this sequel to the surprising smash hit National Treasure was? The fact that Ed Harris, an excellent performer, was nowhere near as intimidating or effective as a "bad guy" than Sean Bean was in the original film...and that's a shame for such a seasoned actor.

As usual, I was scratching my head during this one, as I did with the original, wondering what in G-d's name was going on half the time -- the only reason we now own this disc and it's on our shelf is because my fiancé is a fan of both of these in the growing Disney franchise, and I bought it for her as an early holiday gift, as she did with me and The Incredible Hulk and some others. Watching it again tonight for the second time -- the first was a rental -- I had just a hard time following it as I did back then; this time around, Nicolas Cage, as treasure hunter Ben Gates, is alerted while doing a presentation with his father, still played here by Jon Voight, that his family may have somehow been involved in the assassination of President Abe Lincoln when John Wilkes Booth killed him; they're told this by Ed Harris, who seems to have some connection through his great great grandfather leading everyone to believe the Gates family were actually in on the conspiracy for the murder. The film actually opens with a reenactment of the night Lincoln was killed by Booth, and from all recollection of history texts, it's pretty damn accurate -- even down to the person they found to play Lincoln (even though we only see a semi-side profile of him, this guy looks just like Mr. Lincoln). But, of course, a treasure is included in this mess, and it seems the only way to prove his family's innocence and save his life and the lives of his sidekicks Riley and the cute blonde from the first film (both of whom return here) plus his father and mother (who's along for the ride this time) is to try and find this treasure which leads them all to Mount Rushmore.

Along the way, Gates (Cage) must do the seemingly impossible -- kidnap the current President, in order to get into his "President’s Book" which will lead to clues about the treasure and the conspiracy theory. Also returning in this sequel is Harvey Keitel as the FBI director once again hot on the heels of Gates and his audacious family. The President kidnapping scene is pretty effective, but it's not really a "kidnapping" per se; Cage sneaks into a birthday celebration being held for the President at Mt. Vernon and ends up buddying up with him, convincing him to look below the grounds they're on to search for a hidden tunnel perhaps once infiltrated by George Washington himself -- if this sounds as convoluted as the first film, don't worry -- you're not alone in your thoughts. Once below the grounds, the Secret Service panics into thinking Cage has taken the Prez captive and the Prez begins to worry too, wondering what Cage's intentions are, until Cage assures him he just wants to see what's in his President's Book. In real life, folks, this shit just wouldn't happen...in no way, shape, or form, even if either of these clowns that are running now -- Obama or McCain -- are in office; there's no way the Secret Service would have let a stranger go with the President of the most powerful country on Earth into an underground catacomb just the two of them -- Bruckheimer and crew really stretch suspension of disbelief here. Again, one clue leads to another and another in such a manner that you honestly don't care after awhile, and you're just watching this from a strictly action film basis, as you would any other Jerry Bruckheimer-produced summer blockbuster.

As I said, National Treasure 2's biggest problem is in the casting and performances of some of these people -- Ed Harris just isn't intimidating as the guy who's after the Gates family for their expertise on solving treasure mysteries, and he's certainly not as effective in this role as Sean Bean was in the original. Harris looks like he's sleepwalking through his role here, and it's a shame, after watching the chemistry he had with Cage (and Sean Connery) in the other Bruckheimer pot boiler they starred in together, The Rock...then there's the issue of Jon Voight, another talented actor who's regulated to a forgettable, joke of a role as Cage's father (as he was in the first film, in all fairness); the scenes with Voight are just less impressive here as they ever were in the original. Then, there's yet ANOTHER great actor, Harvey Keitel, whose FBI director character is just plain ridiculous in some instances; it's almost as if director Jon Turteltaub doesn't have the right talent for getting the most out of his cast. In the plus column, we get the comedic antics and delivery lines of Cage in classic form, as well as his returning sidekick "Riley" character, who pretty much save this film on their own.

What's changed since the original? Well, Cage and his sexy blonde girlfriend (you know, the one from the first film he ends up with in their mansion together before she worked for the government as an agent of critical documents?) have broken up; she has "thrown him out" and she's now dating a douche bag who works as an agent at the White House (the obnoxious prick who owns the boat the survivors all ultimately escape on in Zack Snyder's remake of Dawn of the Dead), which allows Cage to get in to the oval office (after him and blondie kind of make up and get back together in order to disprove the Gates involvement in the Booth conspiracy and find this treasure) to search for hidden codes inside the President's desk. What else? Oh, Ben's mother is in this one, as a college professor and there's a whole backstory to deal with now between the mother and Voight seeing each other once again after a supposed messy breakup of their own...the mother gets drawn into the treasure hunt after Harris kind of forces her to as he gets desperate to find the treasure himself, as the mother is able to transcribe and translate certain codes and languages.

The final sequence of the film kind of plays the same formula of the first; the whole gang is trapped in an underground cavern beneath the levels of Mount Rushmore, and the last half of the film concentrates on a giant "balancing platform" that the group must balance with their own weight or be thrown to their deaths if it collapses -- oh, and there is some action in Paris, France, where Cage and Riley and blondie fly to get some hidden code off the other Statue of Liberty that's there....got all that?

As with the first film, this one runs a tick under two hours, but just feels like four.

Oh -- and the "treasure" they're all looking for has to do with a "lost city of gold."

VIDEO ANALYSIS:
1080p HIGH DEFINITION

A couple of things here, first: I recall not being pleased at all with this transfer when I rented this title when it first came out...and, I also remember a lengthy review of it in Home Theater magazine which also talked about a poor video quality and some added "edge enhancement" slapped on by Disney in post-production. I have to say, after watching National Treasure 2 just tonight, this transfer looked lovely -- and we were sampling a used copy I bought, to boot. Aside from some slight yellow push, which plagued the first film's Blu-ray transfer as well, this widescreen image looked very light and easy on the grain and showed a great deal of detail when scenes called for it -- pores in the flesh, wet cobblestone streets in Europe, dimension of characters standing outside Mount Rushmore...the transfer was nothing like I remembered. But no real issues here to speak of that usually litter my reviews: grain was minimal, believe it or not, there was no real contrast overblowing, colors were fairly natural to look at and if there was one thing to nitpick on, it would have to be the black levels being a tad bit too low -- there was black crush in some scenes, such as when they're in the caves below Rushmore at the end...but nothing distracting about it in the least.

The yellow push that I mentioned above really came into play on a couple of instances; when there were lamps illuminating paintings on the wall, those came across as too yellow...there's also an instance of a closeup of Cage's girlfriend's face that exhibited way too much unnatural yellow glow. Other than that though, we enjoyed the visuals on this disc.

AUDIO ANALYSIS:
ENGLISH DOLBY TRUEHD (48 kHz/24-bit); ENGLISH, FRENCH, SPANISH 5.1 DOLBY DIGITAL

Whereas the first National Treasure boasted an Uncompressed PCM soundtrack as its high resolution audio track of choice, the sequel has been switched by Disney to a Dolby TrueHD mix that begins at a quiet pace and then opens up to reveal some surprising surround activity. My initial reaction to hearing this track was to run to the keyboard and write this review claiming "there's no surround information! Where's the surround effects?"...but give the mix time, and the street scenes in Europe where Ed Harris is chasing Nic Cage and crew and their Mercedes C Class and Range Rovers are whooshing by will extend into your rear speakers with some authority -- this is by no means a "thundering" audio track, despite the status these titles hold as Disney/Bruckheimer "blockbusters" and that has always been another head-scratcher for me...at times, the dialogue's a bit too low, and at times, the whole track just requires more push of the master volume knob...but all in all, it's not a bad mix.

A notable audio sequence is when the cast are in the catacombs below Rushmore and the structure is breaking apart beneath them...there is a realistic creaking, rumbling and jarring almost startling Foley effect in the rear channels -- and all around you -- that suddenly makes you sit up and take notice. But the whole film isn't like this, even in other action sequences, so I don't know what happened. For that brief instant, you'll really think you're there with Cage, Voight, Harris and crew as debris crashes down around them in that labyrinth.

Anyone with any comments, questions, opinions, anything -- post away, and let's discuss National Treasure 2!

Oh...and I'll have a review up of The Incredible Hulk (U.S. version) for you all tomorrow.

10-27-2008, 03:25 AM	#1
Peter Marlowe Blu-ray Reviewer Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 2,257	My Thoughts On...NATIONAL TREASURE 2: BOOK OF SECRETS (Disney) You know what the worst part of this sequel to the surprising smash hit National Treasure was? The fact that Ed Harris, an excellent performer, was nowhere near as intimidating or effective as a "bad guy" than Sean Bean was in the original film...and that's a shame for such a seasoned actor. As usual, I was scratching my head during this one, as I did with the original, wondering what in G-d's name was going on half the time -- the only reason we now own this disc and it's on our shelf is because my fiancé is a fan of both of these in the growing Disney franchise, and I bought it for her as an early holiday gift, as she did with me and The Incredible Hulk and some others. Watching it again tonight for the second time -- the first was a rental -- I had just a hard time following it as I did back then; this time around, Nicolas Cage, as treasure hunter Ben Gates, is alerted while doing a presentation with his father, still played here by Jon Voight, that his family may have somehow been involved in the assassination of President Abe Lincoln when John Wilkes Booth killed him; they're told this by Ed Harris, who seems to have some connection through his great great grandfather leading everyone to believe the Gates family were actually in on the conspiracy for the murder. The film actually opens with a reenactment of the night Lincoln was killed by Booth, and from all recollection of history texts, it's pretty damn accurate -- even down to the person they found to play Lincoln (even though we only see a semi-side profile of him, this guy looks just like Mr. Lincoln). But, of course, a treasure is included in this mess, and it seems the only way to prove his family's innocence and save his life and the lives of his sidekicks Riley and the cute blonde from the first film (both of whom return here) plus his father and mother (who's along for the ride this time) is to try and find this treasure which leads them all to Mount Rushmore. Along the way, Gates (Cage) must do the seemingly impossible -- kidnap the current President, in order to get into his "President’s Book" which will lead to clues about the treasure and the conspiracy theory. Also returning in this sequel is Harvey Keitel as the FBI director once again hot on the heels of Gates and his audacious family. The President kidnapping scene is pretty effective, but it's not really a "kidnapping" per se; Cage sneaks into a birthday celebration being held for the President at Mt. Vernon and ends up buddying up with him, convincing him to look below the grounds they're on to search for a hidden tunnel perhaps once infiltrated by George Washington himself -- if this sounds as convoluted as the first film, don't worry -- you're not alone in your thoughts. Once below the grounds, the Secret Service panics into thinking Cage has taken the Prez captive and the Prez begins to worry too, wondering what Cage's intentions are, until Cage assures him he just wants to see what's in his President's Book. In real life, folks, this shit just wouldn't happen...in no way, shape, or form, even if either of these clowns that are running now -- Obama or McCain -- are in office; there's no way the Secret Service would have let a stranger go with the President of the most powerful country on Earth into an underground catacomb just the two of them -- Bruckheimer and crew really stretch suspension of disbelief here. Again, one clue leads to another and another in such a manner that you honestly don't care after awhile, and you're just watching this from a strictly action film basis, as you would any other Jerry Bruckheimer-produced summer blockbuster. As I said, National Treasure 2's biggest problem is in the casting and performances of some of these people -- Ed Harris just isn't intimidating as the guy who's after the Gates family for their expertise on solving treasure mysteries, and he's certainly not as effective in this role as Sean Bean was in the original. Harris looks like he's sleepwalking through his role here, and it's a shame, after watching the chemistry he had with Cage (and Sean Connery) in the other Bruckheimer pot boiler they starred in together, The Rock...then there's the issue of Jon Voight, another talented actor who's regulated to a forgettable, joke of a role as Cage's father (as he was in the first film, in all fairness); the scenes with Voight are just less impressive here as they ever were in the original. Then, there's yet ANOTHER great actor, Harvey Keitel, whose FBI director character is just plain ridiculous in some instances; it's almost as if director Jon Turteltaub doesn't have the right talent for getting the most out of his cast. In the plus column, we get the comedic antics and delivery lines of Cage in classic form, as well as his returning sidekick "Riley" character, who pretty much save this film on their own. What's changed since the original? Well, Cage and his sexy blonde girlfriend (you know, the one from the first film he ends up with in their mansion together before she worked for the government as an agent of critical documents?) have broken up; she has "thrown him out" and she's now dating a douche bag who works as an agent at the White House (the obnoxious prick who owns the boat the survivors all ultimately escape on in Zack Snyder's remake of Dawn of the Dead), which allows Cage to get in to the oval office (after him and blondie kind of make up and get back together in order to disprove the Gates involvement in the Booth conspiracy and find this treasure) to search for hidden codes inside the President's desk. What else? Oh, Ben's mother is in this one, as a college professor and there's a whole backstory to deal with now between the mother and Voight seeing each other once again after a supposed messy breakup of their own...the mother gets drawn into the treasure hunt after Harris kind of forces her to as he gets desperate to find the treasure himself, as the mother is able to transcribe and translate certain codes and languages. The final sequence of the film kind of plays the same formula of the first; the whole gang is trapped in an underground cavern beneath the levels of Mount Rushmore, and the last half of the film concentrates on a giant "balancing platform" that the group must balance with their own weight or be thrown to their deaths if it collapses -- oh, and there is some action in Paris, France, where Cage and Riley and blondie fly to get some hidden code off the other Statue of Liberty that's there....got all that? As with the first film, this one runs a tick under two hours, but just feels like four. Oh -- and the "treasure" they're all looking for has to do with a "lost city of gold." *VIDEO ANALYSIS:* 1080p HIGH DEFINITION A couple of things here, first: I recall not being pleased at all with this transfer when I rented this title when it first came out...and, I also remember a lengthy review of it in Home Theater magazine which also talked about a poor video quality and some added "edge enhancement" slapped on by Disney in post-production. I have to say, after watching National Treasure 2 just tonight, this transfer looked lovely -- and we were sampling a used copy I bought, to boot. Aside from some slight yellow push, which plagued the first film's Blu-ray transfer as well, this widescreen image looked very light and easy on the grain and showed a great deal of detail when scenes called for it -- pores in the flesh, wet cobblestone streets in Europe, dimension of characters standing outside Mount Rushmore...the transfer was nothing like I remembered. But no real issues here to speak of that usually litter my reviews: grain was minimal, believe it or not, there was no real contrast overblowing, colors were fairly natural to look at and if there was one thing to nitpick on, it would have to be the black levels being a tad bit too low -- there was black crush in some scenes, such as when they're in the caves below Rushmore at the end...but nothing distracting about it in the least. The yellow push that I mentioned above really came into play on a couple of instances; when there were lamps illuminating paintings on the wall, those came across as too yellow...there's also an instance of a closeup of Cage's girlfriend's face that exhibited way too much unnatural yellow glow. Other than that though, we enjoyed the visuals on this disc. *AUDIO ANALYSIS:* ENGLISH DOLBY TRUEHD (48 kHz/24-bit); ENGLISH, FRENCH, SPANISH 5.1 DOLBY DIGITAL Whereas the first National Treasure boasted an Uncompressed PCM soundtrack as its high resolution audio track of choice, the sequel has been switched by Disney to a Dolby TrueHD mix that begins at a quiet pace and then opens up to reveal some surprising surround activity. My initial reaction to hearing this track was to run to the keyboard and write this review claiming "there's no surround information! Where's the surround effects?"...but give the mix time, and the street scenes in Europe where Ed Harris is chasing Nic Cage and crew and their Mercedes C Class and Range Rovers are whooshing by will extend into your rear speakers with some authority -- this is by no means a "thundering" audio track, despite the status these titles hold as Disney/Bruckheimer "blockbusters" and that has always been another head-scratcher for me...at times, the dialogue's a bit too low, and at times, the whole track just requires more push of the master volume knob...but all in all, it's not a bad mix. A notable audio sequence is when the cast are in the catacombs below Rushmore and the structure is breaking apart beneath them...there is a realistic creaking, rumbling and jarring almost startling Foley effect in the rear channels -- and all around you -- that suddenly makes you sit up and take notice. But the whole film isn't like this, even in other action sequences, so I don't know what happened. For that brief instant, you'll really think you're there with Cage, Voight, Harris and crew as debris crashes down around them in that labyrinth. Anyone with any comments, questions, opinions, anything -- post away, and let's discuss National Treasure 2! Oh...and I'll have a review up of The Incredible Hulk (U.S. version) for you all tomorrow. __________________ ONKYO TX-SR605B HDMI 1.3a; Onboard Dolby Digital Plus/TrueHD, DTS-HD Master Audio Panasonic DMP-BD10A SONY 1080p KDS-50A2020 SXRD Mains: polkaudio R20 Center: polkaudio CSi30 Surrounds: polkaudio R15 Sub: polkaudio PSW10 marantz CC4001 TASCAM CD-RW900SL PROFESSIONAL Technics SL-QD33 (due for replacement) APC SurgeArrest System INTERCONNECTS & SPEAKER CABLING BY MONSTER Last Review: Last edited by Peter Marlowe; 10-27-2008 at 06:15 PM.