A Softer Side of Bruckheimer

Rating: 7/10 (19 May 2005)

When you think of a Jerry Bruckheimer action film you think of hard core stuff like "Con Air", "The Rock" or the "Bad Boy" pictures. "National Treasure" is a watered down version of those films and more in the realm of say "Pirates of the Caribbean".
Nicolas Cage plays a treasure hunter with a deep historical background, and he travels all over the country in search for historical treasures, much like Indiana Jones. When his crew comes across some clues, he believes that there is an invisible treasure map on the back of the Declaration of Independence. It's suddenly a race to retrieve the document before the competition does. The competition, of course is a former member of Cage's team and a bad guy. Cage hooks up with a beautiful historian (Diane Kruger) and with his faithful sidekicks' help, the three of them try and solve the mystery.
The movie is contrived and silly. It's loaded with clichéd characters and much of this has been done before. But I liked it. It's a fun film that uses a little bit of humor, some history, has some action, and really is pretty harmless. The film doesn't have any profanity, and I don't the kill counter is at a bare minimum. You can take the whole family to see this and not worry too much. Just have fun. (***)