To be a librarian, you must master the Dewey Decimal System, ace internet research and, if you're new librarian Flynn Carsen (Noah Wyle), save the world! Wyle (ER) heads a sterling cast in a fun, fantastical, special effects-laden adventure that soars around the world from the Metropolitan Library to the Amazon jungle to the Himalayas. Geeky Carsen lands a job as the Librarian, keeper of such top-secret Met treasures as Excalibur and Pandora's Box. Then the Serpent Brotherhood, seeking world domination, steals one of three parts of the magical Spear of Destiny from the library. Only Flynn, aided by a gorgeous bodyguard, has the knowhow to thwart their plan. But does he know how to be a hero? He will - even if he has to gouge, kick, punch, brave Mayan death traps and plunge off icy precipices every inch of the way!

Only one film under his belt, and already Flynn Carsen (Noah Wylie) is talking like Indiana Jones. "Relax," he tells a companion before daringly retrieving an ancient artifact before it can be used for evil. "This kind of stuff happens to me all the time." A character of modest charms (much like this made-for-cable movie), Carsen is not your typical movie action hero. His brain serves him better than his brawn. Early on, his knowledge of vegetation plays a key role in a cliff-jumping escape from pursuing bad guys. Carsen, for those just tuning in, is a librarian at the Metropolitan Library, which secretly houses history's mythic artifacts, including the sword Excalibur, and the Shroud of Turin. The fate of the world is once again in Carsen's hands when a map to the legendary King Solomon's Mines is stolen. Carsen embarks on another fantastic global adventure, with stops in Casablanca (with inevitable references to the Humphrey Bogart classic) and Kenya. This time, he has new female companionship, Emily (Gabrielle Anwar), a beautiful archaeologist who can match the much-educated Carsen degree for degree. Reprising their roles from the first film are Olympia Dukakis as Flynn's meddling mother, who tries to fix him up with his third cousin ("You'll have plenty to talk about"), Jane Curtin as flinty library administrator, Charlene ("Save your receipts"), and Bob Newhart as his mentor, Judson. Savvy viewers will see plot twists and character revelations coming from a mile away, but that is all part of the fun, as are the hokey special effects and knowing humor ("There's always a secret passage," Carsen observes while navigating a catacomb). Who know if there will ever be another Indiana Jones movie. Until then, The Librarian is worth checking out, especially on DVD, where it can be enjoyed without intrusive commercial interruption.

A restless Flynn attempts to assimilate back into his career as a librarian at the New York Metropolitan Library after many adventures abroad. Led to New Orleans by strange dreams, he finds himself in the midst of uncovering a conspiracy that involves the notorious vampire Prince Vlad Dracula. Once again, Flynn must overcome his fears and protect one of the world's most sacred artifacts, the Judas Chalice, or face the consequences of it falling into the wrong hands.