A smart, fun film that may try a bit too hard at times to be something it surely isn't

Rating: 7/10 (29 December 2004)

Have you ever been to one of those giant Chinese buffets where there's row after row of fried, mouthwatering foods that you know you could never cook up for yourself? When you walk into one of these restaurants, you can't help but feel a bit gluttonous as you try to stack as many different goodies as you can onto your plate. You take some fried shrimp, a bit of white rice, a dumpling or two; then you happily stuff it into your mouth without as much as one thought. However, when you finally get up to leave, you're always a bit overly full. This is exactly how John Turtletaub's National Treasure will make you feel as it borrows heavily from such cinematic superiors as Raiders of the Lost Arc, and Ocean's 11, all without offering much originality, or plausibility. The meal itself is tasty while it lasts, but afterwords, it just leaves you with a sour stomach.
The film begins as a cliché, continues as a cliché, and ends as a cliché, all to go by the basic cinematic formula, never even slightly treating its audience as intellectuals. It actually starts this right off the bat as the film feels the need to open in the 1970's only to introduce the movie's hero as a child, and set down the main layout of the promising, yet essentially absurd plot.
What is the plot, you may ask? Well, if you've read Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code, it should seem very familiar. The movie follows the character of Benjamin Franklin Gates (Nicolas Cage) as he struggles to uncover the secrets behind the treasure of the Knights Templar, which seemingly disappeared after the first Crusade. Like his past relatives, Ben believes that the treasure was brought to the United States by traveling Freemasons during the time of the revolutionary war. Ben also thinks that once in America, our forefathers, who believed that one man should not hold so much wealth, supposedly hid the treasure, leaving nothing but a string of riddles and clues to its whereabouts.
Now, in the present time, Ben's job is to (Gee, can you guess?) find these clues, solve the riddles of the Freemasons, and hunt down the treasure before it falls into the wrong hands. And just to ensure that there is a set of wrong hands for that treasure to fall into, one of Ben's teammates turns on him in the first act after they discover that the next clue leading to the treasure's whereabouts lies (Ok, here's where the plot becomes a bit more preposterous) on the back side of the declaration of independencewritten in invisible ink, of course.
From here on out, the film becomes an implausible, yet exciting romp through the mysteries of the masonry history, overstuffed with clichés and literally riddled with plot holes as Ben sets out to "protect" the declaration by stealing it, and finding the treasure before his backstabbing teammate. Joining him on his quest is Riley (Justin Bartha), Ben's quirky, show stealing sidekick, and Abigail (Diane Kruger), the beautiful token love interest.
As you'll eventually notice, the movie falls in between the two categories of absurdity and excitement. One moment you could be scratching your head at the movie's stupidity, and the next you could be cheering on Ben during a fun, yet still cliché, car chase. The two feelings don't usually mix well, but since the film doesn't take itself too seriously, plausibility and intelligence will begin to take a back seat to what is actually happening on screen.
One scene that serves as a perfect example to this would be when Ben steals the declaration of independence, which, sitting in a "cleaning" room, is only being guarded by a handful of security guards, and two cameras. While this situation (like many others in the movie) may seem completely asinine, it's played out in such a way that you'll be too immersed in Ben's actions to realize it. The director, John Turtletaub, should be patted on the back, if only for keeping the audience interested with such a great pace, and style for the 2+-hour adventure.
Another thing that truly benefits the film is the acting. The three main characters (Ben, Riley, and Abigail) have such wonderful chemistry together, that you'll soon forget how underdeveloped their characters actually are. At times, Justin Bartha's hilarious performance as Riley will even steal the show, just because of how he acts off of Cage and Kruger. Speaking of Cage and Kruger, their "relationship" in the film seems a bit too forced and unbelievable at times, but, again, you'll be too busy trying to keep up with the film to notice that.
It should also be noted that while the plot may be a bit ludicrous at times, the film still manages to give unsuspecting moviegoers a pretty good history lesson on both the Freemasons, and our forefathers; so don't be surprised if you learn a thing or two.
All in all, National Treasure is a fast paced, exciting, well-acted adventure, if not a bit too daffy in its plot and clichéd formula. If you happen to be in the mood for a fun, "should have been summer" movie, then see this in theaters; however, if you're in the mood to actually think a lot during the film, then wait for the DVD, or pass on the entire experience.
Rating: 3/5