A fairy tale, but Messrs. Howard and Hanks may wish to take note

Rating: Null/10 (9 January 2005)

I can't remember the last time I saw such a squeaky clean Hollywood flick. Sex in NT is reduced to two kisses, neither very passionate, and a mild innuendo at the very end. For violence, the only gore is the blood drawn by the hero from his own thumb, to be used as ink to print a clue. As to obscenity.what obscenity?
The treasure hunt is more of a mental than a physical challenge. On the other hand, don't expect a proliferation of elaborated clues such as those in Da Vinci Code, and there are some running and chasing, not to mention shooting (although you know darn well that the good guys are not going to be hit). Along with some funny lines well spaced throughout, the movie comes across like an airy fairy tale. Forgettable, but enjoyable while you're at it.
Not much complaint about the cast  who THEY ARE, more than what they actually do in the movie. As a matter of fact, not much complaint about what they do in the movie either, because they aren't required to do very much in the first place! Anyway, we have Nick Cage, who can act in a film that requires acting and look lovable in a movie that requires him to look lovable (such as this one), Diane Kruger who has got to have some looks if she could play "the face that launched a thousand ships", Sean Bean who has been nothing short of magnificent as Boromir, Jon Voight who really needs no introduction, Harvey Keitel the excellent character actor and also Tarantino's favorite, and even a cameo from Christopher Plummer who is synonymous with Captain von Trapp.
So much about National Treasure itself. Ron Howard (director) and Tom Hanks (hero) of Da Vinci Code should be watching this one closely, on how successfully or otherwise it has presented the series of clues in the movie. Compared with Da Vinci Code, the clues here are kid stuff and not difficult to make visually interesting. The insanely large number of maddeningly literary clues in Da Vinci Code, on the other hand, could drive an audience mad, if not handled carefully.