I actually didn’t mind National Treasure too much. No, it was no classic… not even memorable really, but it did have some fun to it and never seemed to take itself too seriously. At the very least it was a better film than The Da Vinci Code even if it was a bit of a rip off.
And since the film made an insane amount of money (Over $173 million domestically and over $347 million world wide) the studios have decided it’s worth taking another kick at it. And just about every cast member is coming back for it. The good folks at Cinematical give us this:
National Treasure 2 is about to get underway, complete with the entire cast (Nicolas Cage, Justin Bartha, Diane Kruger, Jon Voight and Harvey Keitel) but minus Sean Bean, presumably because Jerry Bruckheimer thinks it’s time for a colorful new villain. Cool. The plot for the sequel is being kept under wraps, but director Jon Turteltaub dropped a hint regarding “Mount Rushmore,” a location that might be able to lend itself to quality cinema.
The reason I like this idea isn’t because the first film was so great (which I’ve already said it isn’t), but the idea of this character has potential. A modern day Indiana Jones Treasure Hunter. Why not? Stupid? Sure… but it could be fun if done right.
One thing is for certain, they need to beef up this film from the last one. Don’t make the story so far fetched, and give us a little more adventure. Not a ton more… but a bit. National Treasure 2 won’t be any classic either… but it does have potential to at least be a fun Saturday afternoon at the movies. At least in theory.