National Treasure: Book of Secrets

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The movie that brought Robert De Niro and Dustin Hoffman (take a moment to ponder those names) together was a comedy sequel called Meet The Fockers. Was that the only movie that could have got these two giants, these champions of the method acting principle and two of the greatest actors film has ever seen, together? Was it really the only option, considering the mountain of scripts available to the studio heads? Now have a gander at the cast here, and then take a look at the title of the film that brought them together (and I haven't even mentioned Helen Mirren yet). Does anyone else think that something is rotten in Denmark? National Treasure: Book Of Secrets could have been a decent movie, but it doesn't have to be - because Hollywood have lowered the bar to such an extent that crapola like this passes for decent entertainment. It's this cynical approach that's ruining everyone's favourite pastime (I don't know about you, but I love film with my heart and soul and 'decent entertainment' just doesn't cut the mustard). This terrible follow up to the slightly-less-than-terrible-but-still-terrible National Treasure (an Indiana Jones rip-off that capitalised on The Da Vinci Code buzz), sees treasure-hunter Ben Gates (Cage) uncover the 'truth' behind the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, and find clues that lead him to an ancient Native American city of gold. This will (somehow) clear his grandfather's good name. How does one link the other? It doesn't, but National Treasure: Book Of Secrets moves too quickly (they run around America, Paris and London at breakneck speed) for anyone to get a chance to say: 'Wait a sec, this is crapola.' Well, not everyone. It's not an action movie (it's far too wordy), it's not a mystery (everything is spelled out ad infinitum), it's not clever (lines like 'It's a clue!' run riot) and it's not a thriller (the only thrilling part is when you know it's going to be over soon). So what is it? Crapola is my verdict. And where the hell is Nicolas Cage gone? That guy used to be great.

Details: USA / 124mins (PG)