Good, old fashioned adventure

Rating: 6/10 (31 May 2005)

Benjamin Gates (Nicholas Cage) in the next in line in a family who have been searching for a mythical treasure map for generations. When he eventually uncovers evidence that the fabled map was hidden in no other place than the back of the Declaration of Independence, he decides that there is clearly no alternative than to steal the Declaration. (it's in the name of science, after all...)
The thing to keep in mind most before watching National Treasure is that it's all in good fun. It isn't meant to be particularly realistic or probable - just suspenseful, exciting and, above all, entertaining. And National Treasure succeeds in being entertaining, if nothing else. Think of it as a modern Indiana Jones, albeit one which blatantly rips off Dan Brown's novel 'The Da Vinci Code' with the main plot line involving cryptic clues found on pieces of ancient architecture. However, another thing to keep in mind is that the entire story takes place in the good old United States of America, so get ready for some not so subtle patriotic messages (which may lead up to some potential propaganda interpretations) and a particularly cheesy ending, which seems to anticipate us letting out a loud sigh of patriotic pride... but is more likely to produce a pained groan.
Nicholas Cage returns to the thriller genre, but doesn't give anything spectacular here in terms of performance, which is fine, since the script doesn't really call for much character development on his part - the highlight remains the adventure. Justin Bartha plays Gate's annoying sidekick Riley, meant to serve as the comic relief, but in the end, only raises the occasional laugh. Diane Kruger plays a cardboard cutout 'token female' character, who is given absolutely nothing in terms of development or necessity to appear in the story at all, except to finally (and highly predictably) fall in love with Gates. Sean Bean steals the movie as the cold-blooded ex-colleague of Gate's who is racing against him to claim the treasure first. And finally, while it's nice to see classy actors such as John Voight (playing Gate's father, who seems to act as the voice of the audience, expressing doubt that it would be physically possible to continue finding the outlandish trail of clues) Harvey Keitel (as a burnt out federal agent searching for the robbers of the Declaration of Independence) and Christopher Plummer (as Gate's grandfather, who instilled his thirst for knowledge and adventure) taking supporting roles, none of them are given much to do due to their extremely thin characterizations, and seem uncomfortable lurking in the sidelines while Nick, Diane and Justin track down the treasure.
So there isn't much accomplished in terms of script or character development, acting is decent at best and the plot remains outlandish throughout, National Treasure remains a good, old fashioned, fun for the whole family movie (rated PG with no profanity or sex, and violence is virtually nonexistent) much in the mold of Indiana Jones. It's not very believable, but who needs it to be? Just sit back, and cherish the adventure.
-6/10