National Treasure: Book of Secrets (also known as National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets) is a 2007 mystery/adventure film. It is a sequel to the 2004 film National Treasure and is the second part of the National Treasure franchise. It was directed by Jon Turteltaub, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The film stars Nicolas Cage, Diane Kruger, Justin Bartha, Jon Voight, Harvey Keitel, Ed Harris, Bruce Greenwood, and Helen Mirren. It was stated in the first film's commentary that there were no plans for a sequel, but due to the first film's impressive box-office performance, earning $347.5 million worldwide, a sequel was given the go-ahead in 2005. It took 38 days of release for the sequel to out-gross the original. The film premiered in New York City on December 13, 2007, and was first released in Korea and Taiwan on December 19, 2007. It was then released in Australia and the Middle East on December 20, 2007. The film opened in the United States, Canada, Japan, Spain, and Italy on December 21, 2007. It was released in Germany and The Netherlands on January 24, 2008, and in the United Kingdom and Denmark on February 8, 2008.
Movie Details:
Directed by: Jon Turteltaub
Produced by: Jon Turteltaub, Jerry Bruckheimer
Screenplay by: Cormac Wibberley, Marianne Wibberley
Story by: Gregory Poirier, Cormac Wibberley, Marianne Wibberley, Terry Rossio, Ted Elliott
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Diane Kruger, Justin Bartha, Jon Voight, Harvey Keitel, Ed Harris, Bruce Greenwood, Helen Mirren
Music by: Trevor Rabin
Cinematography: John Schwartzman, Amir Mokri
Edited by: William Goldenberg, David Rennie
Production company: Walt Disney Pictures, Jerry Bruckheimer Films, Junction Entertainment, Saturn Films
Distributed by: December 21, 2007
Running time: 124 minutes
Country: United States
Language: English
Budget: $130 million
Box office: $457.4 million
Plot:
In 1865 after the American Civil War, Thomas Gates (Joel Gretsch) and his son Charles Carroll Gates (Billy Unger) are approached by John Wilkes Booth (Christian Camargo) and Michael O'Laughlen, both of them KGC. They ask Thomas, a skilled puzzle-solver, to decode a playfair cipher written in Booth's diary. O'Laughlen stays with Thomas as Booth leaves to assassinate Abraham Lincoln. Just as Thomas discovers the message is a map to Cíbola, the fabled City of Gold, chaos arises in the streets from Lincoln's assassination. Thomas realizes that Booth and O'Laughlen are still loyal to the South and tosses the diary pages into a fire after O'Laughlen shoots him. O'Laughlen manages to save a partial page from the fireplace before escaping. Thomas' dying words to Charles are "the debt that all men pay". 140 years later in modern day where Benjamin Gates (Nicolas Cage), Thomas' great-great-grandson, is retelling Thomas' story at a Civilian Heroes conference. He and his father Patrick Gates (Jon Voight) are publicly accosted by Mitch Wilkinson (Ed Harris), a black market dealer who has come into possession of the Booth diary page, which appears to link Thomas to Booth and Lincoln's assassination. Ben is determined to solve the puzzle on the page to restore Thomas' legacy. Meanwhile, Agent Peter Sandusky (Harvey Keitel) of the FBI finds it suspicious that a black market dealer like Mitch would suddenly come forward with a rare Civil War artifact. Ben meets up with his technology-savvy friend Riley Poole when his Ferrari just got impounded by the IRS because of an unexpected debt. Ben requests his ex-girlfriend Abigail Chase (Diane Kruger) to access the diary page, and after several hours of examination they discover the cipher on the diary page. Thanks to Thomas' last words that Patrick heard from Charles they know the key code is "Death". Ben figure the cipher points to a hidden inscription on the scale model of the Statue of Liberty on the Île aux Cygnes by Édouard Laboulaye who was a Freemason. In Paris, the inscription points to the two Resolute desks, one of which is in Buckingham Palace, the other in the White House. Ben is unaware that Mitch is following in his footsteps, using a clone of Patrick's cell phone to intercept messages. In London, Ben discovers that Patrick has sent Abigail to help. They sneak into the Queen's quarters and find that the Resolute desk acts as a puzzle box, revealing a hidden compartment with a centuries-old plank of wood with indecipherable hieroglyphics on it. Ben then photographs it before Mitch and his men steal it after a car chase through London. Back in Washington D.C, Patrick indicates the plank leads to Cíbola, the City of Gold. Reading a book about Native American history, tells how explorers tried to find Cíbola after its first discovery in 1527 but couldn't find it.Dr. Emily Appleton (Helen Mirren), Ben's mother and Patrick's ex-wife, is able to translate part of the plank but states that the message is incomplete. Abigail uses her current boyfriend, Conner (Ty Burrell), a White House staff member, to sneak Ben into the Oval Office to get the other plank, but Ben finds the Resolute desk compartment empty, save for a symbol representing the supposed "Book of Secrets". Riley asserts that the Book is real, having himself just written a book on its existence, and claims that it contains the truth behind many conspiracy theories, believing the other plank is now in the Book. Traditionally, the only person to know the whereabouts of the Book of Secrets is the current President (Bruce Greenwood) himself, since it's for Presidents' eyes only. Ben and his team manipulate events to assure that the President's birthday celebration occurs at Mount Vernon, allowing Ben to sneak in and lure the President alone to a set of disused tunnels. Ben then blocks off the entrance, trapping the President alone with him so that they can talk about the Book of Secrets. Though the President warns Ben that he will be charged with kidnapping the President, he is sympathetic to Ben's cause and provides him with the Book's location at the Library of Congress. Ben, Abigail, and Riley locate the Book as the FBI, including Sadusky, surround the building. In the Book, they find that President Calvin Coolidge found the other plank in 1924 and destroyed it after taking a photo (which is still in the Book). He also ordered Gutzon Borglum to carve Mount Rushmore to hide the landmark indicated on the plank in order to protect Cíbola. As Ben and his team elude the FBI, he sends an image of the plank to Patrick to give to Emily to decode, unaware that Mitch has intercepted this. Mitch forces Emily to lie to Patrick about the inscription's meaning, but gives him a non-verbal cue of this falsehood. Ben, Patrick, Abigail and Riley arrive at Mount Rushmore, prepared to deal with Mitch, but find that Mitch has brought Emily along, using her as a hostage to ensure Ben follows the final clues on an old letter sent from Queen Victoria to Confederate general Albert Pike. Ben finds the secret entrance, and after avoiding several traps, the group arrives at Cíbola, the City of Gold. Mitch apologizes to Ben for damaging his family name. As they explore, they accidentally cause the cave to flood with water from a lake above. The only means of escape is through a drainage door that must be held open during the escape and closed afterwards, trapping the one controlling the door since it can't stay open by itself. Mitch initially forces Ben to sacrifice himself, while threatening to cut Abigail's throat but after a surge of water, Mitch finds himself holding the door open. He requests that part of this discovery be in his name. Ben and the others escape safely while he stays behind and is killed. Ben and his friends are met by Sadusky and taken to a nearby military base. Ben is cleared of kidnapping by the President himself who claims that Ben rescued him after the tunnel closed accidentally. Thomas Gates' name is cleared and he is called a hero of the Civil War. Sometime later, Cíbola's discovery is announced with Ben, his team, and Mitch given credit for its discovery. Patrick and Emily, happily working together, eagerly take to the task of analyzing Cíbola once it is drained of water. Ben and Abigail rekindle their broken relationship. Riley arrives home to find that the President has given his Ferrari back. The only mystery remaining is what the President asked Ben to decipher on Page 47 of the Book, which Ben says was a life-changing message. Later, Riley is given a new car from the White House, but he accidentally crashes it into a car behind him.