National Treasure 2- watch it with caution

Three years ago, our nation sat riveted to their seats as Ben Gates, Abigail Chase, and Riley Poole solved complicated riddles, gave us a movie packed with suspense, found a treasure, and managed to teach us unique, little-known tidbits about our nation's history. Well, in National Treasure, Book of Secrets these heroes are certainly back, but whether or not that's a good thing is a matter of debate.

The curtain lifts upon the evening of President Lincoln's assasination, when John Wilkes Booth gives Thomas Gates a document to translate. The rest of the beginning then follows the events of Lincoln's murder, and Gates finds out about the plot and throws the document he is translating into the fire. Nevertheless, over one hundred years later, the name of Thomas Gates is revealed on a missing page of the diary of John Wilkes Booth; in a list of those involved in Lincoln's murder. Thus, Ben Gates, joined by his friends Abigail and Riley, sets off on the mission to prove the world wrong once again. Oh, and the finding of a certain Olmec treasure just happens to be involved.

As intriguing as the plot may sound, do not be fooled. Or go in to the theater with your hopes up, at least. The plot is cookie-cutter of the last one, and slow in some areas. The riddles aren't half as baffling, and the research is in shambles. How in the world did an Olmec (the predecessors of the Mayans of Central America) treasure end up in the Northern U.S., as if it belonged there? Oh, and did I mention that everybody was having relationship problems and that the bad guy wasn't really that much of a bad guy? I will say that Riley was much more funny, but I didn't necessarily go to the theater to laugh my head off.

Don't get me wrong, the movie does have exciting parts, just nothing that's eye-opening or new.

Also, you might want to check Plugged In or another reliable review source to get an idea for the content of the movie. We didn't, and they did add some questionable stuff that I will not repeat here because I don't know the exact age range and maturity level of my audience.

Overall, I'd give it about three stars. Although it was good, it's potential was even greater. They could have made a stupendous, blow-me-away movie, but they blew it. I would still probably recommend you see it, but watch it with caution.