No awards--no nominations--no excuse. Best of the year.

Rating: 9/10 (26 November 2005)

It's great to find an adventure film with no dead spots and no gratuitous violence. I can always identify with Nic Cage's character, even when the rest of the film is a snorer (Gone in 60 Seconds). Diane Kruger is so smooth that it's hard to believe that National Treasure was only her third English-language film. Jon Voight has a tension in all of his performance that is similar to Cage's, which made him the ideal choice to play the role of his father. I'd love to see this pairing in future films. Harvey Keitel and Sean Bean were excellent as always in supporting roles (I can't picture either as carrying a film by himself). The film offers possibilities for sequels that could be very different from the original picture. My family and I saw "National Treasure" in the theater, then bought the DVD as soon as it came out. Is it possible to wear out a DVD from too much use? If so, "National Treasure" will be the one.
"National Treasure" received no Academy Award nominations. The Academy must have it in for executive producer Bruckheimer. I can think of no other reason--or lame excuse.