Plot: A historian tries to find a hidden
treasure whose knowledge was passed down to his family generations ago that could
be a worth a fortune.
Review: An adventure movie, when done
right, can be extremely fun but when it’s done wrong, it’s a huge mess. National Treasure falls somewhere in
between. The movie has an interesting treasure set up. Most adventure movies
take place in far away and distant countries, but this one is set right in the
USA. It’s a good change and it lets the viewers explore a different side of American
history that they may not be familiar with. Believe it or not but there a lot
of interesting secrets, especially in the older cities in the east.
The
plot is fairly simplistic and by the numbers. Historian Benjamin Gates (Nicolas
Cage) along with his financial partner Ian Howe (Sean Bean) try to seek the
treasure that Gates family has kept secret for hundreds of years. Howe betrays
Gates, they race to steal the Declaration of Independence which has the map to
the treasure, adventure ensues. Along the way Gates and his sidekick Riley Poole
(Justin Bartha) meet up with the curator of the Declaration (Diane Kruger) and
together they try to beat Howe to the treasure. Standard plot, but it’s not as
if it’s one that needs major tweaking.
The
characters have their good and their bad. Nicolas Cage is subdued here, not
being his crazy self that he is known for. In fact, he is very calm, to the
point that saying “We are going to steal the Declaration of Independence” does
not phase him one bit, it’s like ordering lunch. Justin Bartha is for the most
part annoying. His quips and jokes are lame and unfunny, but he’s got fantastic
facial hair, so he’s just barely bearable. Diane Kruger is good at her role,
she’s not a total damsel in distress and her intelligence shines through when
the scene calls for it. Sean Bean is always great as a villain, although at
times here he seems to be falling asleep. We also get Jon Voight in on the fun,
and Harvey Keitel as well. They bring a good veteran presence and its always
nice to see them. Voight looks like he’s having fun and Keitel seems to act the
same way as his character Winston Wolf from Pulp
Fiction.
The
actions scenes are decent but nothing grandiose. It mostly consists of Gates
and his crew running away from gunshots. There is a sort of an ancient treasure
location near the end, but it doesn’t come anywhere near rivaling anything you’ve
already seen in other movies.
The
movie overall is an ok time, but it won’t blow your socks off. Cage’s
performance might be disappointing for those looking for crazy Nic Cage, each
individual viewer will have their own opinion on him. If you’re bored and
looking for something to watch at 1 AM on Netflix, this is a choice that should
keep you just satisfied enough.
Score: 6.5/10
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