Pajiba

I thought Rushdie was supposed to have been killed by now. Those Iranians are full of shit.

I'll watch this just to feed my hatred for Cage, 'cause I KNOW he's gonna be annoying as all hell.

Hmmm...nope, not going to watch this one either. There's just nothing in the world that will make me watch Droopy McDeadEyes.

Tonight, as hubby and I were coming out of a matinee of No Country for Old Men, we encountered a line - nay, a MASS - of people all waiting for the theater to let them into the 7-something showing of National Treasure: Book of Secrets. Still feeling a little shell-shocked (in a good way), all I could do was stare at them with my mouth hanging open.

If I were Nic Cage, I'd hope that the treasure map in the sequel leads to a decent script.

The first National Treasure was awesome. Let's just get that straight. And as a history student, I actually do know a thing or two about history (much to my tuition-paying father's dismay). There was a freaking treasure map on the back of the Declaration of Independence. When that's the main plot point of ANY adventure movie, you kind of just have to say, "Okay, so it's going to be this kind of movie." Cheesy, entertaining, awesome. It was awesome in the same way The Mummy was, or Dead Calm - both thrillers in, respectably, 1940s Egypt and the high seas. The fact that National Treasure had Nicholas Cage in it just added to the randomness of its appeal. Just try and hold me back from this one! It's okay to like things, people. It's going to be okay.

I'm an archaeology student and I WISH this was the kind of stuff we did. Alas, it's less digging under the pyramids and exploring ancient tombs- more suffering from poison ivy and premature arthritis for $12 an hour.
Oh yeah, and dealing with fucktard tourists who love to drop by digs and ask oh-so-smugly, "Ya found the treasure yet?"

...I'm changing career paths for a reason.

I agree, this is mindless fun, and as long as you can stand Nicolas Cage (which I can) why not? Its like the Lara Croft movies -- you don't really want to admit that you like them, but you find yourself entertained nonetheless.

Kim: comparing this and The Mummy to Dead Calm? Apples to oranges......

Ain't this the same muthafuker who was supposed to be able to see into the future? you mean to tell me this hair plug wearing douche couldn't tell this movie was going to be a piece of shit?

I thought Rushdie was supposed to have been killed by now. Those Iranians are full of shit.

BSlim, I'm begging you, don't fuck with them Iranians. Them sand n****s are a bunch of gangsters, they made Marlo shit his pants.

I'm with Finn - Dead Calm is way out of left field compared The Mummy and National Treasure. This is the Dead Calm with Sam Neill, Nicole Kidman, and crazy Billy Zane, yes? I haven't seen it in a long time, but I didn't think it was set in 1940s Egypt. That, I don't remember.

Since The Mummy was brought up, one of the reasons I enjoyed that series so much was because it appeared that Brendan and Rachel 1) had great chemistry, and 2) looked like they had some fun making the movie. I don't hate Nicky boy like some do, but he and Diane have the chemistry of a wet nap. Actually, I'm not impressed with Diane as an actress at all. In the first one, the only ones who appeared to actually have some fun were Harvey Keitel and Justin Bartha.

I like The Mummy movies. And I saw National Treasure on cable. I enjoyed it well enough. They can't all be Coen masterworks. And the first Lara Croft movie was better than the second, but the second one had the distinct advantage of having oh-so-hot Gerard Butler in it. Damn... worth the two hours right there. I like a good rollicking adventure flick that has some kind of quest, halfway amusing dialogue and likable characters, and where good triumphs over evil. Because you hardly ever get any of that shit in real life. It's nice to have it in movies, at least.

"characters openly fellate American nationalism."

That might be worth seeing! I loves me some nationalism. Especially the American kind!

Daphne, you might want to read that line again.

The Mummy was, or Dead Calm - both thrillers in, respectably, 1940s Egypt and the high seas.

I think the word should have been "respectively", but I got the gist.

And Cage aside (I also do not hate him), it seemed funny to me that folks took issue with he revisionist history of the "National Treasure" films, but will happily ignore the same in the "Indiana Jones" films. Both do embellish on historical fact for a much more entertaining adventure. Plus, as it has been said, real life archeology is boooooooring. I do think the "Jones" films do it better, though.

The husband and I saw the first National Treasure at the theatre - I can't really remember why, though. I think we wanted to see a movie, there was nothing else to see, and we said, "Oh, what the hell, let's go for it." And we liked it. A lot. It was stupid and unrealistic and FUN.

I think this'll be a perfect weekend-before-Christmas distraction.

Thanks, Vermillion, I did misread Kim's sentence. Although, I am still lost with regard to the comparison of Dead Calm to The Mummy and National Treasure.

I remember walking out of the first National Treasure with a sense of "huh". It wasn't a bad movie, but it wasn't anything I'd feel like revisiting. So color me dumbfounded that it's become one of those movies I leave on whenever I need noise in the background and I'm working.

NT is like Indiana Jones Light. The "plot" is held by the flimsiest of threads and 90% of the actors are just in it for a paycheck (I'm looking at you, Jon Voight and you, Sean Bean). And its romantic leads look like they've nothing going on between the ears.

I guess my point is that it's not surprising that a sequel has been made. This movie is safe for people who want their romance off-screen, their action bloodless and their science subjective. It will not offend anyone -- as long as you don't dwell on the facts.

I avoided the first NT like the plague because with the exception of Raising Arizona and Leaving Las Vegas I can't stand Nick Cage. I'm afraid I'll have to catch this one on TBS too.. My only question is when this will be a ride at Disney / MGM. Soon I imagine

Someone convinced me to go see National Treasure and I ended up thoroughly enjoying it! Even if the history is altered in places, I still like how it makes history and puzzles entertaining. Not entertaining, though? Diane Kruger. She's obviously really pretty, but so boring!

Wasn't the new Goofy cartoon attached to this film? That would be the only reason I would go and watch this film.

Exactly: sometimes you're just in the mood for stupid, mindless, entertaining fun. Like, sometimes I'll pick up Slummy Mummy or another chick lit book, when my brain just can't handle Austen or Huxley. Or, when you're stuck in a wine/turkey/chocolate hangover and you end up watching "Full House" reruns on ABC Family. I won't shell out $10 for this, but that's why God invented Netflix.

I am one of those people who unabashadly loves the first National Treasure movie, if only because it's so over the top-- let's steal the Declaration of Independence! Oh, now we have to find a pair of magical glasses in Philadelpia! Look, a massive room full of treasure!

The sequel doesn't fail to deliver-- and it doesn't pretend to make sense. They capture the president, break into the Oval Office, "smoothly" set up a segue into a third movie, and everyone lives happily ever after... until the next treasure map needs some deciphering.

I like to use the dessert analogy from My Best Friend's Wedding... sometimes, I just want jello.

And National Treasure, my friends, is some damn good jello.

Do you ever actually watch the films you review?

Do you ever actually watch the films you review?

I agree, I agree, sometimes movies can be just for fun. Except that I found the first National Treasure boring. (A bunch of friends and I went to see it because we were all convinced it was going to be so horrible so as to attain Battlefield Earth level hilarity.)

The Indiana Jones movies aren't particularily realistic or profound, but they do manage to be damn exciting even when you watch them again as an adult. National Treasure wishes it were the new Indiana Jones, but is never more than it's pale shadow. It's characters aren't as likeable or charming, the action isn't as intense, it never wows you with that sense of wonder or mystery, and the danger never quite seems all that threatening. I saw that sneak peak for NT Book of Secrets on TV. Looks like another batch of the same ho-hum.

I go to movies mainly to be entertained and really can't understand why are so many Pajiba readers embarrassed to just enjoy a silly movie?
The two NT movies are fun. The only way they could change the world is by inspiring some school kid to go "Huh, history can be cool..." As a high school social studies teacher, I can live with that. Also, I can't understand the virulant Cage hate here. As long as he stays away from non-genre films he generally looks like he's having a blast making movies. Granted I like Keanu too so...

yay, i'm looking forward to seeing this on netflix. I liked the first NT too, much like I loved the Indiana Jones movies, the Mummy movies - anything really that combines treasure hunting with puzzles (it's why *gasp* i liked Angels & Demons, too). I especially liked the Mummy because you could see that the actors had fun filming it (check out the outtakes and you'll see why I have a soft spot for Brendan Fraser and a very warm one for Oded Fehr).
but I digress.

I don't think Cage is nearly the caliber of actor every claims he is - or was - but like, Dennis Quaid told Jake Gyllenhal when they started filming Day After Tomorrow, "It's an ACTION movie, don't stress too much"

I can't stand Nic Cage, but because I'm an idiot for Sean Bean, I saw the first NT and was really quite surprised when I enjoyed far more than I expected to. Still not sure about this one, though. On the downside: no Bean. On the upside: Helen Mirren. And you know...absurdly entertaining historical nonsense.

I might need to flip a coin.

I'll admit it. Once in a while I love mindless fun. I've sat through Blade and the Mummy (at home, I ain't paying money for shit) and I loved every damn minute of it but good lord I was never more bored in my life than when I watched the first National Treasure (IN THEATER no less). I'm sorry, when you make up history and your plot makes no freaking sense ... at least have either; a) hot hero/heroine or b) kick ass action. This had neither.

I refused to see National Treasure too, because I thought it looked retarded and stupid and I'm not a huge fan of Cage. But I ended up watching it on TV when there was nothing else on, and really enjoyed it - those who compared it to Indiana Jones are dead on. Now, I LOVE me some Indiana Jones so I wouldn't say it's as good as Indiana Jones is, but it's the same kind of fun, mindless adventure that's just fun to watch. And makes me want to go on an adventure.

What's with all the Cage hatred? OK he's been in some shit following his Oscar win (Con Air anyone?) but Lord of War was a great film and Adaptation was not bad either. Nat'l Treasure is like Indiana Jones for kids...you can't expect it to be as clever as the latter.

I don't care if it's the McDonald's of movies, I'm still not seeing it. As a historian, I do it on principle; there is so much interesting history that is REAL, why must they make up history and have kids running around thinking that there is an actual book of secrets the presidents write in?

I went and saw the movie last night and I loved it because it was exactly what I thought it would be: a 2 hour time killer before dinner with my father.

I do have one complaint, and it isn't even about the movie per se. It's about the previews. I had to sit through a 10 minute Disney short about Goofy ordering a Home Theater System. 30 seconds in and I wanted to kill myself. It was AWFUL. My brother was getting pissed at me for getting upset, saying "It's a Disney film, deal with it." I looked around the theater and there were ZERO children in it. Why don't they tailor these piece of shit shorts for the audience?

Oh, what made it worse? The morons in the theater audience clapping at the end. Of a Disney short. Ugh.

hey. i have been in fayetteville. you are lucky you get to watch movies in that part of the state. i realize that doesn't make the movies any better though.

i'm totally cool with bad movies, and would probably enjoy this one just fine, but i have to say: helen mirren, what the fuck? what in god's name are you doing in this movie?

Having never seen the first "National Treasure", I went to see this movie for one reason only - the divine Helen Mirren. And, she doesn't disappoint - though the movie itself does.

She's gotten a lot (and I mean a LOT)of flack for doing this film but, considering all the heavy and depressing roles she had last year (The Queen, Shadowboxer, Elizabeth I, etc), I think she just wanted to have some fun - and earn a little extra cash.

What's wrong with that???

My son(who is 6) watched the first National Treasure when he was 4. I got it in the mail, it made him happy. He has watched in about 200 hundred time since. So, when the second one came out I knew I would take him to see it. I knew he would have fun and surprise so did I. We saw it as a family over the Christmas break. Hey, atleast I didn't have to spend to hours watching a cartoon. So, everyone wins. The movies really are not that bad. Also, like someone else said, sometimes you just want something fun. Nothing wrong with that.

National Treasure BooK of secrets is 1 of the the best, if not the best, movies I've ever seen. It has the action, heist, and delivery that make it as good as the first 1. Nicolas Cage made a SPECTACULAR preformamce as an awsome. Going to see it at the movies was an exellent idea to see it because it was like xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx-tra high definiton. I LOVED THIS MOVIE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sincere, Frank

National Treasure BooK of secrets is 1 of the the best, if not the best, movies I've ever seen. It has the action, heist, and delivery that make it as good as the first 1. Nicolas Cage made a SPECTACULAR preformamce as an awsome. Going to see it at the movies was an exellent idea to see it because it was like xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx-tra high definiton. I LOVED THIS MOVIE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sincere, Frank

I was an eight year old girl in Osh Kosh (B'gosh!) and my grandad's fedora, holding a makeshift whip in one hand and a book about rocks in the other, ABSOLUTELY POSITIVE I was going to be an archaeologist. I shudder to think what would have happened if The Mummy had been around when I was that impressionable.

/I'm a receptionist now. Wanna trade, Dingles?

What I find most humorous is that the writer/critic is shocked by his epiphany that movies (entertainment) can just be entertaining. Here's a news flash for you buddy...not everything has to have some hidden gem of perceived reality or make some attempt at explanation or even opinion of the human condition. Yes, things can just be fun. Accept it. Appreciate it.

How do people live when they take themselves so damn seriously? Pull your head out of you ass man. It's hard to breathe it there.