8/10 [with explanation]

Rating: 8/10 (28 November 2004)

First off, I'll give you my rating: 8/10
Why?
National Treasure, in brief, is about Ben Gates' [Nicholas Cage] quest to find a legendary treasure that has been protected for generations by the Freemasons. He, along with his comical techy sidekick Riley [Justin Bartha] and government worker Abigail Chase [Diane Kruger], follows clues [often found in historic locations] hoping to find the treasure. Gates' rival is Ian Howe [Sean Bean], who is also attempting to locate the treasure.
Well, for what National Treasure, it seems, desired to be, it did very well.
National Treasure is a pure entertaining film. It's got action, humor, history [actually made enjoyable!], and about a ¼ teaspoon of romance. Several one-liners, mostly from Riley, made me laugh out loud. There's action in car chase scenes, running scenes, and some Indiana Jones-reminiscent sequences towards the end.
All in all, this is not a high-intellectual film, nor is it compelling drama or mystery. It's fun and enjoyable and takes you along for the ride. If you like Pirates of the Caribbean, well, the experience reminded me somewhat of that.
Enjoy!
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