OK, I watched National Treasure: Book of Secrets. It was either this movie or The Warlords. I didn’t feel like watching Jet Li or Takeshi Kaneshiro battle it out (sometimes, I have moods, you know. Of when to watch who and what).
(If you have not seen the movie, read no more. I will not be responsible if you know the plot and decide not to watch the movie after all.)
Not that Nicholas Cage is a better deal. He has one of the most doggy eyes which is really pathetic. Give him more jowls and he’ll look like a cocker spaniel. Those eyes!
But I had read much about this movie. I didn’t see the first one but hey, I like to give people some chances la. So armed with favourable reviews of the movie, we went to get ourselves wowed.
The plot sounded exciting enough. Ben Gates (Cage) is infuriated when his great great grandpa is accused of being part of the Lincoln assasination. Like the modern day hero and Indiana Jones-wannabe, Gates together with his loopy geek cum author friend, Riley Poole (who looks really cute) and ex-gal pal, Abigail, goes in search of the secret that will clear his great great grandpa’s name and restore peace to his own soul (Gate’s I mean).
It’s an American movie. I should have known that it would go all rah-rah and make you wanna stand up and cheer, Oh good old America! It has Cage in it. It also has Jon Voight too.
I think the plot is good enough to entice people like me to the cineplex. The problem is (ah yes, isn’t it always problematic halfway) the movie starts off with an A-grade premise and backslides into B-grade-dom within 30 minutes.
Some of those “impossibles” played out in this movie are:
1. Ben Gates kidnaps the President of the USA to force him to admit to having a Book of Secrets.
2. The Book of Secrets is in the Library of Congress (duh!).
3. There is a secret safe in this library which stores this book which has been passed down from president to president. President’s eyes only.
4. If the President can be the only one to access this book (which offers the REAL truth about things like Area 51, etc, etc), why in god’s name does the president ask Ben Gates to look at page 47 and tell him what’s in it?
5. There’s a ‘noble bird’ carved into some rocks at Mount Rushmore. By pouring water over the rocks, you can see the ‘bird’. How Ben Gates solves this little riddle is too quick, too amazing. Reminds me of Da Vinci Code. But that was clever. The ciphering and deciphering in this movie can be just too clever to appear almost effortless.
6. There’s the hidden gold city inside Mount Rushmore. Which looks like some Incan/Mayan lost city. (No way…..)
7. The hieroglyphs on the wall of the hidden city? Nic says they look like ancient Chinese characters!
And to think Jerry Bruckheimer is behind this movie.
It’s a pleasant movie if you don’t look at the strange way the movie unfolds. It’s a pleasant movie to take in with your girlfriend on a Sunday afternoon. It’s not intellectual, won’t force you to think much and you’ll also probably forget it in a hour.
That said, so much of hype over such a bad movie.
Of course I was disappointed. I should have gone for Warlords then. Could have ogled at Jet Li or Takeshi.
I watched National Treasure for free because I was still working on that musical production and it was held in Cathay Cineplex, opposite The Curve. We sneaked in and caught it on the first day of release. Luckily for us, we didn’t didn’t have to pay because I agree that this story is somewhat far-fetched. At the end of the day, we were thinking, “What if camera phones did not exist?” LOL. Oh, to respond to Number 4, the president knows what’s on page 47 – but it was probably leading to another “treasure” – which was why he asked for Gates’ help. The whole plot was way too smooth – Gates made solving the riddles too quick and easy.
But hey, I need not pay a single cent so… never mind lah hor? 😉
Thanks for the armchair review (at least from mine) and now that I already know that the movie is too far-fetched for intellectuals like us who just couldn’t stay down and relax, won’t be making a beeline to the cinema after all. You really should have watched The Warlords rather. I caught it on Christmas Eve with BK and it was a definitely must-watch. The actors were nothing to ogled about cos the set-up does not require them to appear at their nicest… in fact, they were all ruffled up, with snoot all over the face and unkempt beard. But the plot and the emotions within it are well worth the RM11 per pax. You must watch out for Takeshi, the poor soul trapped in between brotherhood and honour. You could almost empathize with him. Excellent movie by my standard
HI Vern: Haha, I am glad you got to watch the movie for free. Oh yes, they didn’t have a camera phone during the car chase down Paris’ streets even though geeky Riley Poole had 101 things to tap into Buckingham Palace’s security system! Americans! They still have a bone to pick with the poor Queen! You are right – the whole plot was like a smoothie. Just too slick for my liking.
Hi Kate: OK, now I really must go and watch Warlords. Am glad you are telling me it is a must watch. It will justify me going next week. Another movie I want to catch is “I Am Legend”. Anyone watched this and wanna tell me if it’s any good or worth my money?
I watched “I Am Legend”! Erm. To me, I expected more out of the movie. Especially the ending. It was…what I’d usually call “potong stim”. Erm…this movie is like Resident Evil in a much more sombre way. Haha! I think if you like to focus on Will Smith’s lost-pitiful-guy kind of expressions then it’ll be a treat for you. But I’d prefer “The Pursuit of Happyness” anytime.
Thanks Vern for the unsolicited confirmation on the movie, “I am Legend”. I went to GSC at the Pavillion yesterday to catch the Alien vs Predator 2 on a RM28 tickets for two.. cos I opted for couple seats. With that kind of money, I took out my shoes, laid back on the extra comfy seats with slight reclination capability and decided to make my money worth. Alas….. I was as confused as before I went in. RM28 went up in smoke but at least enjoyed the ambiance and the comfort. Thought that I should have watched “I am Legend” instead but sticking to Vern’s verdict, I should have no regrets as not watching that too.
Thanks Vern for the unsolicited confirmation on the movie, “I am Legend”. I went to GSC at the Pavillion yesterday to catch the Alien vs Predator 2 on a RM28 tickets for two.. cos I opted for couple seats. With that kind of money, I took out my shoes, laid back on the extra comfy seats with slight reclination capability and decided to make my money worth. Alas….. I was as confused as before I went in. RM28 went up in smoke but at least enjoyed the ambiance and the comfort. Thought that I should have watched “I am Legend” instead but judging from Vern’s verdict, I should have no regrets as not watching that too.
Hi Vern: I loved The Pursuit of Happyness. It was a feel-good movie with lots of good stuff to learn such as persistence and hard work. OK, now that you told me, I shall think twice about watching “I Am Legend”. I am not a sci-fi fan and even Transformers (while exciting in a bam-bam-bam way) was lots of effects but eventually I forgot about it! Eye candy la.
Hi Kate: Wah,so romantic-nye. Eeer, I wouldn’t watch Alien vs Predator (NOT a sci-fi fan). That’s why I don’t think I ever finished watching Star Wars (OK, Star Wars fan, don’t kill me ya.) Oh, I also caught National Treasure (the first movie) on TV3 last Friday night. Horrible. As bad as National Treasure 2. I wanted to prove to myself that it wasn’t so bad but it was. It WAS. Now it’s down to The Warlords and Golden Compass. Anyone got comments for Golden Compass?