DVD Review: National Treasure 2 Collector's Edition

NATIONAL TREASURE 2: BOOK OF SECRETS

2-disc Collector's Edition

DVD Review by David Blackwell

DETAILS: 125 minutes, audio commentary, deleted scenes with intros, blooper and outtakes, featurettes, and easter eggs

VIDEO: 2.35:1 (Anamorphic Widescreen)

AUDIO: English, French, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Surround

Subtitles: English, French, Spanish (all extras have subtitle option)

STUDIO: Walt Disney Pictures/ Jerry Bruckheimer Films

DVD RELEASE DATE: 5-20-2008

NATIONAL TREASURE 2: BOOK OF SECRETS sees the return of treasure hunter Benjamin Franklin Gates (Nicholas Cage) who must find the lost city of gold to prove that his great-grandfather wasn't part of the conspiracy to kill President Lincoln. He is followed by another treasure hunter (Ed Harris) who has revealed the lost page to the diary of John Wilkes Booth. He has cloned Ben's dad's cell phone and will do about anything to make sure he finds teh lost city of gold aka Cibla. Ben follows the clues and then has to kidnap the President of the United States to get him alone to reveal the location of the Book Of Secrets which contains a vital clue. Ben is teamed up with his assistant Riley Poole, his on-and-ff girlfriend Abigal, his father, and his mother (Helen Mirren) who hasn't talken to his father in years. They go from paris to London to the Library Of Congress to Mount Rushmore.

NATIONAL TREASURE 2 takes great pleasure in mixing real history and real location to make the movie more real. Helen mirren si a great addition to the cast as is Ed Harris (as the bad guy treasure hunter). It is a fun popcorn roller coaster ride that may get a few viewers more interesting in history, conspiracies, and treasure hunting. It is an excellent cure for anyone who is missing Indiana Jones (the next Indiana Jones film hits theaters on May 22nd). Now I wonder when the next sequel is going to be made.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The audio commentary with Director Jon Turteltaub and Actor Jon Voight is the only extra on disc 1 beside sneak peaks for other DVD titles. Both Jons talk about the production and joke around.

Disc 2 has multiple featurettes, a few interesting delted scnes (each with an introduction by the director), a funny blooper and outtakes reel, and easter eggs.

SECRETS OF A SEQUEL- a seuqel they were still writing when they began shooting it to make the set release date.

THE BOOK OF SECRETS: ON LOCATION- a look at the various locations they used in the film and the restrictions they had in shooting in London (and in front of the White House).

STREET STUNTS: CREATING THE LONDON CHASE- all the prep work that went into making the London car chase sequence.

UNDERGROUND ACTION- a behind-the-scenes look at the underground cavern set they created on a soundstage.

EVOLUTION OF A GOLDEN CITY- A look at the big set they created to be enhanced by CGI.

COVER STORY: CRAFTING THE PRESIDENTS' BOOK- how they designed the Presidents' secret book

KNIGHTS OF THE GOLDEN CIRCLE- An all-too-brief featurette on the real Knights Of The Golden Circle and the stolen gold that is still to be found.

INSIDE THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS- the most interesting featurette on the disc that takes us on a tour of the various didvisions featuring interviews with the people who work there.

At least four Easter Eggs are hidden in the Bonus Features menu system:

-a look at the stunt car rig they had mounted on top of the car to allow the actors to be shot during the car chase (first bonus features menu)

-the idol drop on the gimbal platform (the idol drop broke many lights)

-Nic Cage and Jon Turteltaub talk about Beverly Hills High and working with each other (look in the deleted scenes menu)

-White house lawn blue screen work (first bonus features menu screen)

FINAL ANALYSIS: NATIONAL TREASUE 2: BOOK OF SECRETS is a great flick to watch for fans of the first film and the Indiana Jones films. The extras on disc 2 are worth a watch for the tour of The library Of Congress and the deleted scenes.

this DVD Review is (c)5-13-2008 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission. send all comments to lord_pragmagtic@hotmail.com and look for additional content (reviews, news, articles) at http://enterline-media.tripod.com and http://enterlinemedia.livejournal.com

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