National Treasure: Book of Secrets
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures | Release Date: December 21, 2007 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
48
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 26 Critic Reviews
Positive:
5
Mixed:
15
Negative:
6
Watch Now
Stream On
Stream On
Buy on
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Expand

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
40
Austin ChronicleKimberley Jones
Book of Secrets isn’t so much a romp as a long trudge through American history factoids and conspiracy-theory gobbledygook. Cool car chase, though. Read full review
58
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
A strictly by-the-book sequel: It doesn't cheat series fans but it doesn't offer many thrills or surprises or lingering puzzles, either. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeTy Burr
Often as noisy, dippy, and enjoyable as 2004's "National Treasure," and when it's not, it's just another sequel, more absurd than most. Read full review
50
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
Leave it to coproducer Jerry Bruckheimer to revive the Indiana Jones cycle without the period setting, the camp elements, or Spielberg's efficiency; director Jon Turteltaub just plods along, and the script by Marianne and Cormac Wibberley is equally poker-faced. Read full review
50
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
The movie has terrific if completely unbelievable special effects. The actors had fun, I guess. You might, too, if you like goofiness like this. Read full review
38
Chicago TribuneMichael Phillips
All you want from a movie like this, really, is a little brainless fun, and it keeps holding out on you. Everyone looks fatigued. Even Cage’s toupee seems ambivalent about having signed on for a sequel. Read full review
50
Christian Science MonitorPeter Rainer
No better than the first – which means it will probably be creamed by critics and make a jillion dollars. But really, standards are standards. Read full review
40
EmpireAndrew Osmond
A turgid action sequel that loses sight of plot and characters in its humourless efforts to impress. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
Director Jon Turteltaub has fun with Indian glyphs, giant stone pulleys, and an Indy Jones-worthy City of Gold located beneath the rocky shoals of Mount Rushmore. Read full review
40
Film ThreatMark Bell
Is the film fun? Yeah, in that campy kind of "The Mummy" way, but it is also weak as a sequel in that very campy "The Mummy Returns" type of way. Read full review
70
L.A. WeeklyLuke Y. Thompson
This ain’t "The Da Vinci Code," folks, and the reason you can tell is that it’s actually quite entertaining. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesKevin Crust
Everything has been significantly amped up -- bigger, louder, further removed from reality -- but it also feels that much more forced. Cage and Kruger seem like they're not having much fun this time around, and Bartha still gets the best throwaway lines. Read full review
50
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
If there was an iota of plausibility to any of this, we could forgive the film's greater leaps of imagination - all those break-ins of absurdly unprotected bastions of Western civilization. But this is not audience-participation suspense. All you can do is sit and watch, and wish there was more wonder. Read full review
38
New York PostKyle Smith
It's another flick about maps, landmarks and buried treasure that makes "The Da Vinci Code" look like TOLSTOY. Read full review
38
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
Like a grade-school version of an Indiana Jones adventure. Read full review
38
PremiereEric Alt
The movie does feature a nice, teasing chemistry between veteran actors Voight and Mirren (who clearly relishes the chance to break out of stuffy melodrama), but this shallow, empty puzzle requires more than playful banter to satisfy audiences willing to pay to play. Read full review
38
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
"Mindless" applies, and Book of Secrets is more like a tame, endlessly repetitive amusement park ride than a motion picture. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChroniclePeter Hartlaub
A welcome throwback to family-friendly PG moviemaking. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubNathan Rabin
It's a measure of the film's infectious goofiness that Cage seems altogether more interested in clearing the name of a long-dead ancestor than in finding a city of gold. Read full review
38
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Jason McBride
Throughout all this, Cage's lazy, dull performance – who knew there were so many ways to express smugness? – is enlivened only by poorly timed bursts of exuberance. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterKirk Honeycutt
It contains all the elements from the original film...But that's the problem: It's virtually the same movie with new locations. Oh, plus Helen Mirren. Not a bad addition, but the popcorn fun is gone. Read full review
60
The New York TimesMatt Zoller Seitz
Like its predecessor, “National Treasure,” this sequel amounts to a bunch of crossword puzzle answers stitched together with explosions, chases and displays of intuitive reasoning that the “Twin Peaks” F.B.I. agent Dale Cooper would reject as too right-brained. Read full review
50
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
It shares all the original's shortcomings —--it’s too long and too loud and filled with historical disinformation -- but none of the snap that made "National Treasure" fun for kids and a guilty pleasure for some adults. Read full review
50
USA TodayClaudia Puig
This sequel is what you would expect: If you liked the original, you'll probably enjoy this retread. But be warned: It bogs down in a drawn-out scene near the end. There's certainly nothing to treasure about this movie, but if a popcorn movie with moderate intrigue and occasional humor is what you're after, this is just the ticket. Read full review
60
VarietyJustin Chang
Graced with some extra star wattage courtesy of Helen Mirren and Ed Harris, this diminishing-returns sequel sends Nicolas Cage on another quest to strike it rich, get young auds excited about history and solve puzzles that are generally less stimulating than yesterday's Sudoku. Read full review
70
Washington PostAnn Hornaday
Cage is back in crackling good form in National Treasure: Book of Secrets. Read full review
More From This Movie

48 Critic Reviews

5.9 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 77 Project Hail Mary
2 75 Send Help
3 73 Hoppers
4 72 The Sheep Detectives
5 63 Normal
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL