A Nutshell Review: National Treasure

Rating: Null/10 (8 December 2004)

It's been a long time since we last saw a Bruckheimer-Cage vehicle, and this one is as enjoyable as their past collaborations.
For starters, it will appeal to Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code fans, as the narrative is similar - myths and legends, symbols, Freemasons, Knights Templar, etc form the basis of the story. And instead of Robert Langdon, we have Cage's character solving riddles and clues that promisingly and hopefully would lead to treasure (The Sacred Feminine anyone?)
The first half of the movie dwells on the plot to steal the Declaration of Independence. Quite nicely done I must say, before launching into Dan Brown's style of cut action scenes, "Chapter cliffhangers", diving into explanations of clues left behind in the American greenback, the all seeing eye, the unfinished pyramid and the like.
Not as exotic a location setting as it's based in US cities (New York, Philadelphia, Boston got a mention, but hey, it's Hollywood!), as compared to Brown's Langdon novels set in Paris, England, The Vatican, Rome.
This should wet your appetite while waiting for Tom Hanks and perhaps Julie Delphy to emulate something similar.
Not to be missed by Cage fans, Dan Brown fans, and fans of the face that launched a thousand ships, Diane Kruger