For those who watched
National Treasure …

If Indiana Jones is the gold standard for archaeological adventures, then the National Treasure series is pyrite. It looks pretty (particularly Diane Kruger), but there’s very little value there.

Book of Secrets continues the tradition of the first movie, which seemed more fun somehow. Nicolas Cage is Ben Gates and he goes around solving absurd puzzles hidden in ordinary monuments that somehow no one has ever noticed before. And he solves the puzzles meant to keep these major treasures secret in, oh, about 10 seconds each.

… you chose poorly.

If one of these puzzles were to appear on an SAT test, it would read something like this:
William was born in 1863. The digits in 1863 add up to 18. There were at one time 18 states in the Union. A union is between two people. John and Jackie Kennedy were two people. Ergo:

A) Oh my God, WILLIAM KILLED JFK!!!!
B) WTF did any of that have to do with anything???
C) This has to be right; it’s the most common answer.
D) Um, all of the above?

To be fair, there are some decent action sequences every once and awhile, and there are some funny lines. But like Pirates of the Caribbean, there are diminishing returns on the sequels. They just feel like more of the same (and they already set it up for a third movie — joy).

All in all, you’re better off just rewatching Indy’s exploits and biding your time until the fourth installment comes out and you can watch a real treasure-hunting movie.