National Treasure: Book of Secrets (also known as National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets) is a 2007 mystery adventure film. It is a sequel to the 2004 film National Treasure and is the second part of the National Treasure franchise. It was directed by Jon Turteltaub and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer.

It was stated in the first film's commentary that there were no plans for a sequel, but due to the first film's impressive box-office performance, earning $347.5 million worldwide, a sequel was given the go-ahead in 2005. It took 38 days of release for the sequel to out-gross the original.

The film premiered in New York City on December 13, 2007, and was first released in Korea and Taiwan on December 19, 2007. It was then released in Australia and the Middle East on December 20, 2007. The film opened in the United States, Canada, Japan, Spain, and Italy on December 21, 2007. It was released in Germany and The Netherlands on January 24, 2008, and in the United Kingdom and Denmark on February 8, 2008.

Plot[link]

The film opens as Thomas Gates and his son Charles are approached by John Wilkes Booth and Michael O'Laughlen, both of the Knights of the Golden Circle. They ask Thomas, a skilled puzzle-solver, to decipher a message written in Booth's diary. O'Laughlen stays with Thomas as Booth leaves to assassinate President Abraham Lincoln. Just as Thomas discovers the message is a map to Cibola, the fabled City of Gold, pandamonium arises in the streets from the President's assination. Thomas realizes that Booth and O'Laughlen are still loyal to the South, tears the pages from the diary and tosses them into a fire before O'Laughlen can shoot him. O'Laughlen only manages to save a partial page from the fireplace before escaping, while Thomas' dying words to Charles are "the debt that all men pay".

The film then shifts to contemporary day, where Ben Gates, Thomas's great-great-grandson, is retelling Thomas' story at a Civilian Heroes conference. He is publicly accosted by Mitch Wilkinson, a black market dealer that has come in possession of the diary page, which appears to link Thomas to Booth and Lincoln's assassination. Ben determines to solve the puzzle on the page to restore Thomas' legacy. Ben is unaware that Mitch is following in his footsteps, using a clone of Ben's father Patrick's cell phone to intercept messages.

Shooting of the film in London

Ben and his technology-savvy friend Riley Poole discover the diary page to point to a hidden inscription on the scale model of the Statue of Liberty on the Île aux Cygnes in Paris. The inscription points to the two Resolute desks, one in the Queen's chambers in Buckingham Palace, the other in the Oval Office of the White House. In London, Ben discovers that Patrick had sent his estranged girlfriend Abigail Chase to help. They are able to sneak into the Queen' quarters and find the Resolute desk acts as a puzzle box, revealing a hidden compartment with a centuries-old plank of wood with indecipherable hieroglyphics on it. Ben convinces Patrick to help them arrange a meeting with Dr. Emily Appleton, Ben's mother and Patrick's ex-wife. Emily is able to translate part of the plank but states that the message is incomplete. Abigail uses her current boyfriend Conner, a member of the White House staff, to allow Ben to sneak into the Oval Office, but Ben finds the Resolute desk compartment empty save with a mark representing the supposed "Book of Secrets". Riley asserts the Book is real, having just written a book on its existence himself, and claims it contains the truth behind several conspiracy theories, but the only person that knows about the Book's whereabouts is the President himself.

Ben and his team manipulate events to assure that the President's birthday celebration occurs at Mount Vernon, allowing Ben to sneak in and lure the President alone to a set of disused tunnels to talk to him in private. Though the President warns Ben that he will be a wanted criminal for kidnapping him, he is sympathetic to Ben's cause and provides him with the Book's location at the Library of Congress. Ben, Abigail, and Riley locate the Book as the FBI, including Special Agent Sadusky, surround the building. They find that President Coolidge had found the other half of the plank, and had it destroyed after taking a photo (still in the Book); he had also ordered the excavating of Mount Rushmore to hide landmarks indicated on the plank, recognizing that England had given allies from the Confederate States the clues to Cíbola as to turn the tide of the Civil War. As Ben and his team elude the FBI, he sends an image of the plank to Patrick to give to Emily to decode, unaware Mitch has intercepted this and is waiting for Patrick. Emily is forced to lie about the inscription's meaning to Patrick, but is able to give him a non-verbal cue of this falsehood.

Ben, Patrick, Abigail and Riley arrive at Mount Rushmore, prepared to deal with Mitch, but find Mitch has brought Emily along, using her as a hostage to assure Ben follows the clues. Ben is able to find the secret entrance, and the group avoids several traps before arriving at the underground site of Cíbola. As they explore, they accidentally cause the cave to flood with water from a lake above. The only means of escape is through a drainage door that must be held open on one side to allow the rest to escape and closed afterwards, trapping the one controlling the door. Mitch initially forces Ben to sacrifice himself, but after a surge of water, Mitch finds himself holding the door open. He apologizes to Ben for doubting his family, and requests that part of this discovery be in his name. Ben and the others escape safely.

Ben and his friends are met by Sadusky and taken to a nearby military base. Ben is cleared of kidnapping by the President himself, who claimed that Ben rescued him after a cave collapsed. Some time later, Cíbola's discovery is announced with Ben, his team, and Mitch given credit for its discovery. Patrick and Emily, happily working together, eagerly take to the task of analyzing Cíbola once it is drained of water. Thomas Gates' name is cleared and called a hero of the Civil War. Ben and Abigail rekindle their broken relationship, while Riley is given a sports car by the President, "tax free", for his help despite not learning anything more about the Book of Secrets.

Cast[link]

• Nicolas Cage as Benjamin Franklin "Ben" Gates
• Justin Bartha as Riley Poole: Ben's colleague
• Diane Kruger as Dr. Abigail Chase: Ben's colleague and girlfriend
• Jon Voight as Patrick Henry Gates: Ben's father
• Harvey Keitel as FBI Special Agent Sadusky
• Alicia Coppola as FBI Special Agent Spellman
• Ed Harris as Mitch Wilkinson: A black market dealer
• Bruce Greenwood as President of the United States
• Helen Mirren as Dr. Emily Appleton: Ben's mother
• Joel Gretsch as Thomas Gates
• Billy Unger as Charles Carroll Gates
• Ty Burrell as Connor: Abigail's new boyfriend who works at the White House
• Zachary Gordon as Lincoln Conspiracy Kid
• Glenn Beck as Abraham Lincoln
• Judy Renihan as Mary Todd Lincoln
• Christian Camargo as John Wilkes Booth

Reception[link]

Critical response[link]

National Treasure: Book of Secrets received mixed reviews from critics. Rotten Tomatoes reported that 34% of critics gave the film positive reviews based on 123 reviews.^[3] Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 48 out of 100, based on 26 reviews^[4], while British film critics disputed the implication of British support for the Confederate side in the American Civil War.^[5] The film earned two Razzie Award nominations including Worst Actor for Nicolas Cage (also for Ghost Rider and Next) and Worst Supporting Actor for Jon Voight (also for Bratz: The Movie, September Dawn and Transformers).

Box office[link]

The film opened at number one with $16,739,339 on its first day,^[6] and $44,783,772 its first weekend,^[7] the third largest Christmas opening.^[8] It reached the $100 million mark in eight days,^[7] half the time it took the first film.^[9] It stayed at number one for 17 days before dropping to number two,^[7] and grossed $457,364,600 worldwide, making it the ninth highest grossing film of 2007.^[2]

Novelizations[link]

Disney Press published an official novelization of the screenplay titled National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets The Junior Novel on November 6, 2007.^[10] Parts of the story in the novel version differ slightly from what was actually filmed, owing to changes being made in the screenplay prior to and during production. For example, in the novel, Ben and Abigail photograph the wooden plank found hidden in the Queen's desk and leave it behind, with the car chase following. But in the movie, they take the plank with them on the chase.

Also published on the same day as the official novelization was a companion youth novel Changing Tides: A Gates Family Mystery by Catherine Hapka. Its story is set in England in the year 1612 and is the first in a series of planned historical novels about the Gates family. The epilogue from Changing Tides is included at the back of the National Treasure book.^[11] The second youth novel by Hapka, Midnight Ride: A Gates Family Mystery, was published on March 8, 2008.^[12]

Home video[link]

National Treasure: Book of Secrets was released on DVD, UMD, and Blu-ray Disc on May 20, 2008^[13] (June 2, 2008 in the UK).^[14] In the opening weekend, 3,178,631 DVD units were sold, bringing in $50,826,310 in revenue. As of August 2009, 5,873,640 DVD units have been sold, generating revenue of $93,132,076. This does not include Blu-ray Disc sales or DVD rentals.^[15]

The film has been retitled National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets for all three releases. The film's official website has also been changed accordingly.

A special edition, called the "National Treasure Presidential Edition", contains Nation Treasure and National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets inside a letter book which is a replica of the Presidents' secret book from National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets.^[16]

Production[link]

Many scenes of historic locations were filmed on location, including the scenes at Mount Vernon and Mount Rushmore.^{[17] [18]} Filming at Mount Rushmore took longer than initially scheduled, due to inclement weather and the decision to change the setting of additional scenes to the area around Mount Rushmore to take advantage of Black Hills backdrop.^[18]

Sequel[link]

Director Jon Turteltaub said that the team will take their time on a second National Treasure sequel,^[19] but Disney has already registered the domains for NationalTreasure3DVD.com and NationalTreasure4DVD.com.^[20] Though the second film ended with the question about page 47 of the President's book of secrets, Turteltaub responded in a press interview that the idea was not set in stone as the basis for National Treasure 3. The Internet Movie Database stated that the third film will be released in 2014 with the original cast consisting of Nicolas Cage, Diane Kruger, Justin Bartha, Jon Voight, and Helen Mirren returning again.^[21]

See also[link]

• Abraham Lincoln assassination
• National Treasure (film)
• Playfair cipher

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: National Treasure: Book of Secrets

• Official website for the DVD and Blu-ray Disc
• Official UK Competition site
• National Treasure: Book of Secrets at the Internet Movie Database
• National Treasure: Book of Secrets at AllRovi
• National Treasure: Book of Secrets at Rotten Tomatoes
• National Treasure: Book of Secrets at Metacritic
• National Treasure: Book of Secrets at Box Office Mojo