Blu-ray Review: National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets

National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets is the sequel to National Treasure starring a similar cast of characters with the addition of Ed Harris in the role of Mitch Wilkinson and Helen Mirren as Ben Gates’ mother.

The film picks up a year or so after the first, with Ben Gates and his father (Jon Voight) at a conference explaining how their great grandfather, Thomas Gates, was shot and killed the night of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, when he refused to decipher a cipher that was presented to him at a tavern near Ford’s Theater by John Wilkes Booth and another member of the Knights of Golden Circle. The cipher contained a clue to the location of the Lost City of Gold, which Thomas Gates realized, if found by the remnants of the old confederacy, could be used to finance and rekindle the civil war. The Gates’ presentation is interrupted by Mitch Wilkinson who presents them with a missing page from the diary of John Wilkes Booth which he claims proves that Thomas Gates was a co-conspirator in the assassination of President Lincoln. Ben Gates then starts out to prove that wasn’t the case and clearing his family name, which requires him to actually find the City of Gold.

While this film was fun, it lacked the ingenuity of the first film and tried too hard to top the first. Try as I might, I was not able to suspend my feeling of disbelief as I was with the first, which is what made the first film so good. Here I kept thinking, “Sure, oh yeah, right” through the entire film rather than sitting back and simply enjoying the action as was the case with the first film. If you are a real fan of the first film, pick up the sequel. For the rest of you, I would buy the first and rent the second.

THE VIDEO: 41/2 stars out of 5

Encoded with AVC and presented in its original aspect ratio of 2:40:1, National Treasure 2 boasts a very good looking transfer, albeit just a tad below the quality of National Treasure. As one would expect with a new film, the print here is in pristine condition. National Treasure 2 is a more stylized film with a less natural looking color palette than the one that graced the original. I found the color palette here skewed a bit to gold probably due to the fact that they were in search of the City of Gold. This was most noticeable in the skin tones which all had a golden tones to them. As a matter of aesthetics, I really prefer a more natural color palette than what was presented in this film. On the plus side, the colors are fairly vibrant and well saturated. Black levels were good but not quite up to the level of those in National Treasure. Detail is outstanding, showing the textures of skin and clothing. Shadow detail was not quite up to the level of the original either with some black crush present. With a more natural color palette and better black level, this would have been a tremendous transfer. As it is, it is very good but not at the level of the best transfers or even the level of the original.

THE AUDIO: 4 3/4 stars out of 5

Unlike National Treasure, National Treasure 2 is presented with Dolby True HD rather than uncompressed PCM and as such, is a bit of a departure for Disney. To get a handle of the sound of this release, check out my review of National Treasure. The strengths and weaknesses noted there are identical to my impressions there. However, I have score the audio here a tad higher than National Treasure due to the audio at the end of the film when the enter the mountain under Mount Rushmore. The audio from the moment they enter the cavern until they leave is outstanding placing you in the space with the actors. The sounds of the walls cracking and boulders falling makes you want to duck for cover. Excellent stuff and definitely reference material. Well done.

IN CONCLUSION

While a fun film, National Treasure 2 Book of Secrets is just not as good a film as its predecessor. For fans of the first who must have the set, I can recommend the film for purchase, if just for the audio at the end. For the rest of you, I would recommend it as a rental only.

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