Generic, Bland, Low-Thrill Adventure Fodder

Rating: 4/10 (27 October 2015)

Entry-level suspense/action that's careful to paint exclusively by the numbers. Which is to say it's thoroughly safe and predictable from the very beginning, fair play for a Disney-branded family flick. It does let itself get washed away in a late flood of post-9/11 patriotism, but the constant flag-waving and revolution-era set pieces - absurd though they may be - at least give the picture something of a unique identity. It's not the next Tomb Raider though, try as it might, and the actual riddle-cracking/crypt plundering often comes so easily that it all feels redundant and boring. Nic Cage's lead performance varies from intensely awkward to, actually, pretty cool, but he can't completely fight away the urge to overact his heart out in a few late scenes. A strange hybrid of genres and essences, with an even stranger knack for casting decisions, I found it light entertainment at best.