STUDIO: Buena Vista
RELEASE DATE: May 20, 2008
STARRING: Nicolas Cage, Jon Voight, Harvey Keitel, Ed Harris, Diane Kruger, Justin Bartha, Bruce Greenwood, and Helen Mirren
WRITTEN BY: The Wibberleys
DIRECTED BY: Jon Turteltaub
FEATURES: Audio Commentary With Director Jon Turteltaub And Actor Jon Voight
Deleted Scenes With Introductions By Jon Turteltaub
The Treasure Reel - Bloopers & Outtakes
Secrets Of A Sequel
The Book Of Secrets: On Location
Street Stunts: Creating The London Chase
Inside The Library Of Congress
Underground Action
Cover Story: Crafting The Presidents' Book
Evolution Of A Golden City
Knights Of The Golden Circle

The movie world really needs Indiana Jones. Nowhere is that more evident than in the massive success of the National Treasure movies, a pair of flicks that will adequately fit the bill for family viewing on a Saturday afternoon but pale in comparison to their clear inspiration, especially when both franchises choose to grab the spotlight in the same week with National Treasure: Book of Secrets hitting DVD the same week that Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull hits theaters. Despite obvious comparison in their fascination with history's mysteries, they're not even in the same league.

Fans flocked to the second National Treasure flick last holiday season, bringing the film to an amazing $450 million worldwide. The film was one of the top ten highest grossing flicks domestically just behind The Bourne Ultimatum at over $200 million. The success of both this flick and Alvin and the Chipmunks (only one spot behind National Treasure on the 2007 chart) indicate a serious lack of movies out there that the whole family can see. Audiences are dying for PG adventure and they're likely to scoop up National Treasure: Book of Secrets on DVD to watch with the entire clan for years to come. It has a wide-ranging demographic appeal. But, and I feel like a Scrooge saying this, it's really not that good. It's cluttered with plot to the point of nearly being a parody of the first film and contains not one truly memorable action set piece. A very strong ensemble and high production values keep it from being a completely miserable experience, but the script is horrendous, full of cluttered ideas and awful dialogue. Don't see it within a few days of Crystal Skull. You'll regret the inevitable comparisons.

National Treasure: Book of Secrets jumps wildly from Buckingham Palace to The White House to Mt. Vernon to Mt. Rushmore with hints at Watergate, Area 51, and the Kennedy assassination in between. It all has something to do with the Lincoln assassination, a book that's passed down from President to President with all of our country's secrets tucked away in it, and a Lost City of Gold. Book of Secrets almost revels in its everything-and-the-historical-sink mentality, which could make it a guilty pleasure, but it makes you wonder why they didn't save anything for the inevitable third movie.

What almost saves Book of Secrets from its cut-rate screenplay is the excellent cast. Cage is more relaxed and assured this time around and Book of Secrets actually boasts one of the most accomplished supporting casts of any action/adventure with Jon Voight, Helen Mirren, Harvey Keitel, and Ed Harris all doing an incredible job of raising the film above its TV-movie screenplay roots.

The two-disc collector's edition of National Treasure: Book of Secrets is a very impressive one, as you might imagine it would be for a Disney franchise this successful. It stands next to the recent Pirates of the Caribbean DVD releases in terms of video and audio quality and special features. The two-disc edition puts all the special features on the second DVD, leaving the compression on the actual movie minimal and giving viewers a crystal clear picture. The audio matches the video. Buena Vista is simply one of the better studios when it comes to technical presentation and I couldn't spot a flaw in either the video or audio for Book of Secrets. The commentary track features the director and actor Jon Voight and they're both affable and interesting. The second disc includes as many special features as any fan could hope for including bloopers, deleted scenes, and featurettes that cover several angles of the film.

National Treasure: Book of Secrets made enough money that it clearly has legions of fans who will pick it for Father's Day, summer birthdays, or just when they get tired of seeing Iron Man over and over again. I may not love the film, but I have the utmost respect for how well it's been treated on DVD with a perfect technical transfer and special features designed to satisfy its fans.