"NATIONAL TREASURE 2: BOOK OF SECRETS" (2007) Review
Released in movie theaters nearly eleven years ago, "NATIONAL TREASURE 2: BOOK OF SECRETS" was the 2007 sequel to the 2004 Disney hit film, "NATIONAL TREASURE". Directed by Jon Turteltaub, the movie starred Nicholas Cage, Diane Kruger, Justin Bartha and Jon Voight.
"NATIONAL TREASURE 2: BOOK OF SECRETS" opens with a black market dealer named Mitch Wilkinson revealing to Benjamin and Patrick Gates that their 19th century ancestory, Thomas Gates, may have been the mastermind behind Abraham Lincoln's assassination. Wilkinson's alleged proof came from assassin John Wilkes Booth's diary. To prove their ancestor's innocence and family honor, Ben and Patrick recruit the aid of family friend Riley Poole and Ben's estranged girlfriend Abigail Chase to help them find that proof. Their investigation leads to the discovery that one of Riley's conspiracy theories - the existence of a secret presidential publication called "the Book of Secrets" might lead to a treasure of gold and vindication of Thomas Gates and the family's name.
Like its 2004 predecessor, "NATIONAL TREASURE: BOOK OF SECRETS" was not perfect. One . . . why end the movie at Mount Rushmore? Why end it with the discovery of the City of Gold? I understand that in the movie, Confederates had learned about the City of Gold and wished to use it for their goals. But a part of me wishes that the story had remained on the East Coast and used or created another treasure for the protagonists to find. Perhaps I would have been spared the boredom of the protagonists and the villain struggling inside some cavern longer than I thought necessary. And if I must be honest, the revelation of the City of Gold proved to be less dramatic that the Templar treasure's revelation in "NATIONAL TREASURE". This movie's finale struck me as more anti-climatic than climatic.
Despite my disappointment with the film's finale, I must admit that overall, it turned out to be just as fun and exciting as the first movie. In their goal to exonerate Thomas Gates and the family name; Ben Gates, and company followed clues that led them from Paris, to London, back to Washington D.C. and finally to Mount Rushmore in the Dakota Black Hills. The movie featured some exciting and funny sequences that I found utterly entertaining. Among my favorites were Ben's successful soothing of a Parisian traffic cop's ego; Ben, Abigail and Riley's successful attempt to gain access to one of the Buckingham Palace rooms; Ben and Abigail's minor adventure inside the White House with the latter's current boyfriend; and their adventure at the Library of Congress.
If I had to select two sequences that I found truly outstanding, they had to be the London car chase. In this funny and very exciting sequence; Ben, Riley and Abigail raced to evade the film's main antagonist, Mitch Wilkinson and his minions through the crowded streets of London. Very well executed by director Jon Turtletaub. Another sequence that I truly enjoyed proved to be the one in which the others help Ben crash the U.S. President's birthday bash held at Mount Vernon. From the moment in which the quartet manipulated the White House staff into holding the party at George Washington's former home to which Ben "kidnapped" the President in order to learn information about the so-called "Book of Secrets". The whole thing was a joy to watch, especially Nicholas Cage and Bruce Greenwood's performances.
Commenting on Cage and Greenwood's performances in the Mount Vernon sequence made me realize that the film's most valuable asset was its cast. Cage gave a very energetic and entertaining performance as Dr. Benjamin "Ben" Gates, who is determined to clear his family's name. Watching Justin Bartha's subtle, yet hilarious performance as Ben's close friend and tech specialist, Riley Poole, made me realized that he had been vastly underused in "THE HANGOVER" movie franchise. Diane Kruger gave a very charming and this time, a funnier performance as Ben's love of his life and ex-girlfriend, Dr. Abigail Chase.
For the first time, Jon Voight played a major role in the adventure as Ben's father and fellow historian, Dr. Patrick Gates. He was especially effective in his scenes with Helen Mirren, who portrayed his estranged ex-wife and Ben's mother. The latter was a blast as the no-nonsense Dr. Emily Appleton-Gates, who seemed to focus all of her affection upon her son. Ed Harris gave a first-rate performance as the ruthless and manipulative black market dealer, Mitch Wilkinson. Ironically, his reason for manipulating the Gates family into finding the treasure proved to be surprisingly poignant. I had earlier commented on Bruce Greenwood's performance as the President. Let me add that I found his performance very humorous and very sly. The movie also featured solid performances from the likes of Peter Woodward; Alicia Coppola; Albert Hall; Armando Riesco; a rather funny Ty Burrell; Joel Gretch, who portrayed the family's 19th century descendant Thomas Gates; and the always dependable Harvey Keitel, who returned as FBI Special Agent Sadusky.
Aside from my gripe about the film's finale sequence and the treasure itself, I must admit that I enjoyed "NATIONAL TREASURE: BOOK OF SECRETS". Thanks to Jon Turtletaub's lively direction, Cormac and Marianne Wibberley's screenplay and an outstanding cast led by Nicholas Cage, this 2007 sequel proved to be just as entertaining as the first film.
"THE POST" (2017) Review
When one thinks of Katharine Graham, Ben Bradlee and The Washington Post; the Watergate scandal comes to mind. So, when I heard that filmmaker Steven Spielberg planned to do a movie about the famous newspaper's connection to the "Pentagon Papers" . . . I was very surprised.
As many know, the Pentagon Papers had originated as a U.S. Department of Defense sponsored report that depicted the history of the United States' political and military involvement in Vietnam from 1945 to 1967. Sometime between 1969 and 1971, former military/RAND Corporation strategic analyst Daniel Ellsberg and RAND colleague Anthony Russo secretly made several copies of classified documents about the U.S. involvement in Vietnam since 1945 and submitted them in 1971 to The New York Timescorrespondent, Neil Sheehan. The Times eventually published the first excerpts of the classified documents on June 13, 1971. For years, I have been aware of The New York Times's connection to the Pentagon Papers. I had no idea that The Washington Post had played a major role in its publication, as well.
There have been several productions and documentaries about the Pentagon Papers. However, most of those productions centered around Daniel Ellsberg or The New York Times's roles in the documents. "THE POST" marked the first time in which any production has depicted The Washington Post's role. Many people, including employees from The New York Times, have questioned Spielberg's decision to make a movie about The Post's connection to the Pentagon Papers. Some have accused Spielberg of giving credit for the documents' initial publication to the The Washington Post. And yet, the movie made it perfectly clear that The New York Times was the first newspaper to do so. It even went out of its way to convey Post editor-in-chief Ben Bradlee's frustration at The Times' journalistic coup.
Following The New York Times's publication of the Pentagon Papers' first excerpts, the Nixon Administration, at the urging of Secretary of State Henry Kissenger, opposed the publication. Later, President Richard Nixon ordered Attorney General John Mitchell to obtain a Federal court injunction, forcing The Times to cease publication after three articles. While The New York Times prepared a legal battle with the Attorney General's office, Post assistant editor Ben Bagkikian tracks down Ellsberg as the source of the leak. Ellsberg provides Bagdikian with copies of the same material given to The Times, who turns them in to Bradlee. The movie's real drama ensues when the newspaper's owner, Katherine Graham, finds herself torn between Bradlee's urging to publish the documents and the newspaper's board of directors and attorneys, urging her not to.
I had at least two problems with "THE POST". I am certain that others had more problems, but I could only think of two. I had a problem with Janusz Kamiński's cinematography. I realize that the man is a legend in the Hollywood industry. And I have been more than impressed with some of his past work - many of it for Steven Spielberg's movies. But I did not like his photography in "THE POST". I disliked the film's grainy and slightly transparent photography. I do not know the reasons behind Spielberg and Kamiński's decision to shoot the movie in this style. I do know that I found it unappealing.
My second problem with the film centered around Spielberg's directorial style. In other words, his penchant for sentimentality nearly made the film's last ten minutes slightly hard for me to swallow. I refer to the scene in which one of the reporters read aloud the Supreme Court's decision to allow both The Washington Post and The New York Times, along with any other newspaper, to continue publishing the Pentagon Papers. It simply was not a matter of actress Carrie Coon reading the Court's decision out loud. Spielberg emphasized the profoundness of the moment with John Williams' maudlin score wailing in the background. A rather teeth clenching moment for me.
Otherwise, I enjoyed the movie very much. Superficially, "THE POST" did not seem that original to me. When one has seen the likes of "ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN" and "SPOTLIGHT", what is so different between them and "THE POST". But there was a difference. For the movie's real heart focused upon owner Katherine Graham and her conflict over whether or not to allow the next excerpts of the Pentagon Papers to be published. And what made this even more interesting is the woman's character.
If one had read Graham's memoir, "Personal History", one would learn that for years, she had suffered from an inferiority complex since childhood, due to her strained relationship with her more assertive mother. In fact, her father, who was the newspaper's original owner, had handed over the newspaper to her husband, Philip Graham, instead of her. And she saw nothing wrong with her father's decision. Following her husband's death, Graham found herself publisher of The Post. During the movie's setting - June 1971 - not only did Graham found herself dealing with Ben Bradlee's urgent demand that the newspaper publishes the Pentagon Papers, but also with the newspaper's stock market launch. Even worse, Graham also found herself facing a board of directors who did not take her seriously as The Post's publisher.
So in the end, "THE POST" was more than about the Papers itself and the question of the United States' involvement in the Vietnam War. It seemed to be about how an unpopular war had an indirect impact upon a woman's life through a political scandal. The movie also seemed to be about a struggle between the media's belief in free press in order to inform the people and the government's belief in its right to control what the people should know. In a way, the Vietnam War and Daniel Ellsberg's release of the Pentagon Papers established The Washington Post's rise as an important national newspaper. And it opened the public's eyes about the U.S. government's involvement in Vietnam - something that had been hidden from the government for over two decades. The war and Ellsberg also kick started Katherine Graham's elevation as a newspaper publisher willing to take a risk for an important news story and of her self-esteem. Spielberg's movie could have simply been about The New York Times's scoop with its publication of the first excerpts of the Pentagon Papers and its battle with the Nixon Administration. But as I have earlier pointed out, his narrative has been seen in past productions.
Aside from my disappointment with Kamiński's cinematography, there were other aspects of "THE POST" I admired. I certainly had no problems with Rick Carter's production designs. One, he did an admirable job of re-creating Washington D.C. and New York City circa 1971. And I was especially impressed that both Carter and set decorator Rena DeAngelo's recreation of The Washington Post's newsroom was as accurate as possible. I had learned that the newsroom depicted in the 1976 movie, "ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN" was slightly larger. Apparently, sometime between the newspaper's coverage of the Pentagon Papers and Watergate, its newsroom had been renovated and enlarged. Good catch on Carter and DeAngelo's part. Hollywood icon Ann Roth designed the costumes for the film and I must say that I was impressed. I was not impressed because I found her costumes dazzling or memorable. I was impressed because Roth, who had also served as costume designer for three of director Anthony Maghella's films, perfectly captured the fashion styles of the conservative Washington political set of the early 1970s.
Both Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks earned acting nominations - for their portrayals of Katherine Graham and Ben Bradlee. Streep is the only one who earned an Academy Award nod. I am a little conflicted about it. On one hand, I cannot deny that the two leads gave very good performances. Streep did an excellent job in conveying Graham's emotional growth into her role as her late husband's successor as owner of The Washington Post. And Hanks was first-rate as the ambitious and tenacious Bradlee, who saw The Post's acquisition of more excerpts from the Pentagon Papers as a step into transforming the newspaper as a major national periodical. The movie also featured an interesting performance from Bob Odenkirk, who portrayed Ben Bagkikian, the assistant editor who had decided to set out and find Ellsberg after the Attorney General's Office forced The New York Times to cease publication of the Papers. Another interesting performance came from Bruce Greenwood, whose portrayal of the besieged former Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara really impressed me.
I was surprised to discover that "THE POST" won a Best Ensemble award from the Detroit Film Critics Society. But you know what? Perhaps I should not have been that surprised. With a cast that included Carrie Coon, David Cross and Philip Casnoff; I really enjoyed those scenes featuring Bradlee with his senior staff, whether they were discussing or examining the Pentagon Papers. The movie also featured solid performances from Bradley Whitford, Sarah Poulson, Matthew Rhys, Michael Stulhbarg, Alison Brie, Jesse Plemmons, Pat Healy, and Zach Woods.
I can honestly say that I would not regard "THE POST" as one of my top five favorite movies directed by Steven Spielberg. In fact, I am not sure if I would regard it as one of his best films. But the movie proved to be one of my favorites released in 2017, thanks to Spielberg's direction, a first-rate screenplay written by Liz Hannah and Josh Singer, and an excellent cast led by Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks. I have a feeling that it is one movie that I would never get tired of watching.
