Great and entertaining movie, but...

Rating: 6/10 (23 January 2005)

First off: don't read my comment if you haven't yet watched this movie.
It's a great and entertaining movie with a great and gripping story, and next to perfect casting. Nicolas Cage was a perfect choice for the role of our modern day crusader, he is just believably enthusiastic throughout the whole movie. Sean Bean plays a perfect villain, not the first time around during his career. He already made a great villain in 'Don't Say A Word'. Harvey Keitel is great in the role of the FBI agent and Diane Krüger seems to become a mature actress in Hollywood.
My only biggest problem with this movie is that Jerry Bruckhemer and co. not just haven't read Da Vinci Code, but haven't even heard of it?? While the book has been on the bestsellers list for months and even a movie is being made of it, National Treasure has a way too similar plot to the book (except for the usual Dan Brown start-up scenes with a mysterious murder). So while the movie is entertaining and highly enjoyable, it's just still like Da Vinci Code placed in the United States. Looks like if Bush, Cheney and the Republican campaign advisors wanted to re-write Dan Brown's book: the story is relocated to the USA and has been filled up with greed, national pride, a huge load of patriotism, all kinds of clandestine organizations and hunting/searching for things whose existence is questioned by everyone except for the hunters. With the only exception that this time around they hunt for treasures of great historical value and not for mass destruction weapons. And of course there comes the unmissable happy ending with the actual finding of the treasure, I didn't expect. I guess I won't get any answers to my question about the similarity between the movie and Da Vinci Code.
Besides all this it's a good movie, even a good history lesson, so you won't waste your money and time if you watch it. Highly recommended for those who liked Da Vinci Code and for those who like action scenes that may seem more humorous than believable (e.g. when Cage's assistant hacks into the security system of the National Archives through a laptop computer sitting in a van parked just outside the building).