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Indiana Jones meets American History 101 in this family-friendly adventure film.
Nicolas Cage stars as Benjamin Franklin Gates. Years and years ago, Ben’s grandfather’s
grandfather’s grandfather, Thomas Gates, was entrusted with the key to unfathomable
treasure that’s been guarded for centuries by the Knights Templar (those of you who have
read The DaVinci
Code will recognize part of the background story), who eventually became the
Freemasons—many of whom took part in the founding of America. The Founding Fathers took
great pains to hide the treasure from the British, and when the last of them died, he
entrusted Gates with the secret. Since then, the treasure has been the obsession of the
Gates men—except for Ben’s dad, Patrick (Jon Voight), who thinks it’s nothing but a wild
goose chase.
Determined to be the one to find the treasure, Ben partners
with Ian Howe (Sean Bean), who finances the expedition. But when Ian decides that Ben’s
honesty and integrity are only standing in his way, the two turn from partnership to
competition. Aware that Ian’s next step is to steal the Declaration of Independence (to
find the treasure map that’s invisibly printed on the back), Ben and his wise-cracking
sidekick, Riley (Justin Bartha), try to save the Declaration—only to discover that the
only way to save it is to steal it before Ian gets it. When National Archives curator
Abigail Chase (Diane Kruger) gets in the way of the plan, she, too, joins Ben and Riley
on their adventure.
National Treasure is an action movie that’s fun
for the whole family. The beginning starts out a little shaky—the background story flies
by, making it a little hard to catch—but that’s not the important part, really. What
matters is the action. The adventure. The race for spectacular treasure. The movie
itself may be almost pure Hollywood formula (good guy, bad guy, beautiful woman, goofy
sidekick), but it just works. Cage is perfect for the role of Ben—a role that he plays
with just the right mix of strength and boyish enthusiasm. And his dry wit works well to
even out Riley’s often annoying one-liners.
Sure, I could point out holes
in the story. I could note inconsistencies and inaccuracies. But why spoil the fun?
National Treasure is entertaining and exciting—with enough action to keep you on
the edge of your seat, gripping the armrests (or the arm of the person next to you).
(Or, if you’re like the woman who was seated next to me in the theater, it’ll have you
screaming things like, “No! Not the car! …Don’t go that way! …OH NO!”) Whether you
watch it with the kids or your poker buddies, everyone’s sure to enjoy it.
