I loved the original National Treasure. We have it on DVD and watch it again every few months. So I had high expectations for this sequel. And I was not disappointed. National Treasure: Book of Secrets is a great movie.

All of our favorites were back for this movie. Nicolas Cage is Ben Gates. Diane Kruger is back as Ben’s wife, Abigail Chase. And Justin Bartha reprises his role as Riley Poole, Ben’s sidekick. Even Jon Voight is back as Ben’s dad, Patrick Gates. We also got to meet Ben’s mother, Emily Appleton, played by Helen Mirren.

The movie begins with Ben giving a speech about his great-great-grandfather, Thomas Gates. Apparently the group behind the assassination of Abraham Lincoln sought Thomas Gates help in decoding a secret message. When Thomas realized who they were, he ripped up the pages and threw them in the fire. He was then shot and killed.

At the end of Ben’s speech, a man, Mitch Wilkinson (played by Ed Harris) stands up and declares he has proof that Thomas Gates was not a hero, but instead was in on the plot. And he has proof. Thomas Gates’ name is on one of the pages from John Wilkes Booth’s diary.

This sends Ben and crew off another treasure hunt to prove Thomas Gates’ innocence.

Like the first movie, there is quite a bit of real history thrown in with the fiction. I’m a bit of a history buff and always think that’s so cool when there is a little history lesson in a movie.

All the actors did a great job with their roles. Although I thought Mitch Wilkinson’s character could have been developed a little better. We were supposed to feel a tiny bit sorry for him by the end of the movie, but his actions prior to that made it hard to like him.

There was a lot of action and tons of suspense. Granted we knew our heroes weren’t going to die, but we were still on the edge of our seats.

The special effects were great too. There was nothing hoaxy about this cinematography.

It was a great movie. Definitely a must see. All of my kids enjoyed it too. Even Caleb at just five years old. I’ll give this a 4.5 beans out of 5.