The plotlines of National Treasure and National Treasure 2: Book Of Secrets focus on treasure mysteries involving lead character Ben Gates and his family. The first movie finds Ben on a quest to validate the stories of a legendary treasure found and hidden by a secret society his ancestors (as well as many other prominent figures, including some in government) were a part of. These stories had been carefully passed down through the years, each successive generation searching for it, but none of them had ever even cracked the first clue. As a young boy, Ben formally takes on the responsibility of the search; and as an adult, he finally gets the means to do so… not for his own use, but instead to restore the honor of his now-infamous family, who have long lived in public ridicule for believing, promoting, and trying to prove what others see as a crazy conspiracy theory.
The second movie finds the Gates’ now-restored family honor in danger of being trampled again, this time by the claim that one of Ben’s ancestors was the architect of the assassination of President Lincoln— rather than a hero who stopped John Wilkes Booth’s conspirators from gaining another legendary treasure, which the Gates family has always known him to be.
Because of the nature of these treasures and the people who hid them, the hunt for their widely-scattered clues inevitably lead to restricted (often government) property— forcing the searchers to come up with quite ingenious, good-old-fashioned-bluff-mixed-with-modern-day-high-tech methods of obtaining information and getting past guards, high security, the (also-inevitable 
) fully-armed bad guys, and of course the FBI. Gates even has to work around the Secret Service in the second movie (and you can bet we won’t give that scene away! ).
The movies also feature some very well-placed wit and plenty of danger-laced action. Plus, everything within both films’ storylines seamlessly blend real history with the ‘history’ invented by the moviemakers, to the point where you really don’t know what’s true and what’s not. It’s a very clever feature that draws you in— and actually makes you want to find out the real truth for yourself.
In short, all of these qualities make both National Treasure and National Treasure 2: Book Of Secrets great Action/Adventure movies, and they’re definitely recommended.
Our collective rating for National Treasure and National Treasure 2: Book Of Secrets
(for individual ratings see the sidebar above): 5 Stars. 