Rated PG for some violence and action.
Directed by Jon Turteltaub (National Treasure, The Kid)
Starring Nicolas Cage, Justin Bartha, Diane Kruger, John Voight and Ed Harris
National Treasure: The Book of Secrets is the best action movie for families out there.
The second installment of this exciting family action movie finds Ben Gates (Nicolas Cage) presenting information about his great-grandfather, Thomas Gates who tried to stop John Wilkes Booth from assassinating President Lincoln. Things are going well until a member of the audience (Ed Harris) announces that he has one of the 18 missing pages from Booth's diary and this page proves that Ben's great-grandfather was actually one of the conspirators. Ben sets out to prove his great-grandfather’s innocence and clear his family’s name. The adventure takes Ben, Abigail (Diane Kruger), and Riley (Justin Bartha) from Buckingham Palace (where they break in) to the White House (where they break in) and a few other historic locations.
O.K., first things first. This is a Disney-made, family-oriented action movie. Please don’t expect to see the typical foul-mouthed, too-much-skin, and graphic violence we find in most action movies. I thought the film makers did a great job of entertaining the audience without going to the lowest common denominator.
Then there is Nicolas Cage. Admittedly, I am not a huge fan, but I have found I really like him in certain roles. He has certainly had his share of misses like Ghost Rider and Wicker Man, but he was great in Windtalkers and Gone in Sixty Seconds. And it seems he has found the perfect role as National Treasure’s Ben Gates.
Finally there is the far fetched story line. (SPOILER WARNING) I mean seriously, they are trying to discover a lost city of gold that is under Mt. Rushmore in order to clear a family name because their great-grandfather was accused of being part of the conspiracy to assassinate President Lincoln. As ridiculous as it sounds, it all plays out well and is very entertaining.
So if you can lower your expectations just a little and allow your critical mind to take a break for two hours…then I highly recommend it.
SHOULD KIDS SEE IT?
My 10 and 6 year olds loved it. There are a couple of scenes that are intense but nothing objectionable.
Conversation Starter
Three Simple Questions (with Answers You May Be Looking for):
- What are some of the messages or themes you observed in this movie?
- How do you suppose we—as serious Christ-followers—should react to this movie?
- How can we move from healthy, Bible-based opinions about this movie to actually living out those opinions?
