Enjoyable Family-Friendly Caper

Rating: 7/10 (3 February 2007)

I heard big things about this movie from the get-go, and I must say that most of those things are right. When Jerry Brickheimer started producing films for Disney, I began to wonder why. But in the end, it looks like a good marriage. To date, the Bruckheimer/Disney team seems to fare pretty well, and "National Treasure" is a testament to that union.
Nicolas Cage stars as Benjamin Franklin Gates, with Jon Voight playing his father, Patrick Henry Gates. And Christopher Plummer makes a brief appearance as Ben's grandfather, John Adams Gates (do you see a pattern here?). Okay, enough about the Gates family. I thought it was an interesting way to present the Gates family and their ties to American history.
The whole movie centers around the Declaration of Independence, on the back of which lays the final clue for the secret location of the legendary Treasure of the Knights Templar. Early in the film, Gates leads a party to a clue that points to the Declaration, and some of that party, lead by the "questionably legal" Ian Howe (Sean Bean), split off. From this moment, the chase is on.
Gates and his assistant, the eager Rigley Poole (Justin Bartha) try to warn authorities, but all of them, including archivist Dr. Abigail Chase (Diane Kruger), laugh them off. At this point, any further plot points may be considered spoilers for those who haven't seen this movie yet, so I will stop here.
For the most part, the performances were pretty good, though I did have a hard time believing Jon Voight as 30 years younger in the opening scene, which takes place in 1974. The wig and make-up he wore didn't help much, either (It's almost as bad as that awful get-up he wore as Howard Cosell in "Ali").
I did enjoy the action scenes for the most part. There were a couple of chase-scene clichés thrown in, but they still worked. And for those of you who wonder if your child can watch this movie, it's okay, trust me. The creepiness factor is at most moderate (a few brief glimpses of long-dead bodies), there is some gun-play (but only from the bad guys, and no one gets hurt), only one person dies (off-camera), and I can recall maybe one or two (very) mild profanities. Besides, it's a PG-rated Disney film.
One thing I can say about this movie is that it is somewhat reminiscent of action films of the late-1940s and early-1950s. This is an enjoyable family-friendly movie, and it will entertain you and make you think (but not too much).