ACTION ADVENTURE; 2hr 4min
STARRING: Nicolas Cage, Jon Voight, Diane Kruger
Three to go: from left, Kruger, Bartha and Cage
2004’s National Treasure might have drawn mixed reviews but audiences ate it up and treasure hunter Ben Gates (Cage) is duly back in business. Ben is bound and determined to prove that his great-great-granddaddy did not conspire with John Wilkes Booth to murder Abraham Lincoln, as a newly surfaced page from Wilkes Booth’s diary suggests he did. There is a precious haul in the offing, too, which gets our guy where he lives, and some stiff competition to unearth it (hello, Ed Harris).
With Ben’s dad (Voight), his ex, curator Abigail Chase (Kruger), and his assistant Riley Poole (Justin Bartha) once again in tow (and Jon Turteltaub back in the director’s chair), it’s first stop, Paris. Second stop, Buckingham Palace. Third stop, University of Maryland (hello, Helen Mirren). Fourth stop, the Oval Office…
Aiming high obviously isn’t an issue: like its zestful predecessor, this pell-mell escapade is all about the big, action-stacked picture. So stock up on the popcorn, put disbelief on hold and prepare to strike yourself some gold.
