No treasure here

Rating: Null/10 (19 November 2004)

National Treasure (2004) Nicholas Cage, Harvey Keitel, Jon Voight, Diane Kruger, Sean Bean, Justin Bartha, David Dayan Fisher, Christopher Plummer, D: Jon Turteltaub. Cage descends from a family of treasure hunters who discovers a hidden map on the back of the Declaration of Independence, leading to a $10 million treasure. After he steals the document before his scapegoat rival, a National Archives worker (Kruger) gets pulled into the race to find the treasure. You get pretty much what you'd expect from producer Jerry Bruckheimer: dumb and formulaic. Globetrotting-adventure misfire fails to inspire in acting, writing, and action, though a few thrills turn up in the lively, protracted climax set on a rickety underground staircase. Even the title is dull. 100 min., rated PG. * ½