National Treasure is a bit like Indiana Jones for kids without most of the things that made Indy so hugely enjoyable.

Nicholas Cage plays Ben Gates, who comes from a long line of treasure-hunting maniacs (well, that’s being a little unkind, but most of the archeological and historical world view them as such), whose ancestor was apparently entrusted with the first key to finding the greatest treasure on earth. This treasure was collected and then protected by the Knights Templar, the Freemasons, and all the usual suspects in this sort of utterly unlikely tale. Fun and havoc naturally ensues as he realises that the first step to getting his hands on this treasure is to… steal the US Declaration of Independence. (Fortunately his best buddy Riley Poole, played by Justin Bartha, just happens to be an electronics counter-espionage expert, though the reason for this is never explained.) Coming into the mix are Gates former colleague, the distinctly dodgy Ian Howe (Sean Bean) and Abigail Chase (Diane Kruger), Museum expert turned international treasure hunter.

It all sounds very unlikely and cliché… and it is. It took approximately ten minutes for the plot to descend below any level of believability, though that wasn’t such a problem as anyone could have worked that out from the trailer. It’s just a bit of fun that the kids are quite safe to watch, and isn’t too painful for adults to watch with them, though having a couple of nice beers first will definitely aid your enjoyment of this hokum.

Cage plays his part with plenty of gusto but even he looks appalled at times about the terrible lines he’s given at various stages throughout the film. (Some of the extras, who only have one line and a terrible one at that, don’t even seem to try!) Bean is cast very effectively as the baddie of the piece, and was the best actor on display here. (Think of Sharpe as a bad guy and you’re pretty much there!) Bartha is occasionally funny as the comic relief but is more often annoying, and Kruger is quite frankly boring in her role as the supposedly-feisty love interest. (She doesn’t look half as appealing in jeans as she did in Trojan robes, either!) Jon Voight gives a slightly under-par performance as Gates Senior, perhaps he realised too late that he shouldn’t have signed the contract… There’s enough action and humour to keep your mind off the gaping flaws of the films sometimes, but not throughout the whole film. Probably the best thing about the movie is the sets (decorated by Anne D McCulley), some of which are extremely well done and shown to good effect – they love slowly lighting up the whole area when they’ve discovered something important, you see.

On the upside, there’s some decent stuntwork backing it all up and some nice SFX. The music grates on the nerves at times but mostly you don’t even notice it. Director Jon Turteltaub does an ok job but this is a movie he’ll probably want to forget… or maybe not as he’s going to be directing the sequel too. (Yes, they’re making a sequel… oh dear…) The film’s main claim to fame is that it has as Producer Jerry Bruckheimer, who will also be trying to forget this film as he churns out more CSI episodes and looks forward to the next two “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies, though I note with some alarm that according to IMDB (International Movie DataBase, usually a very reliable source of information) he’s also been announced as producer of National Treasure 2…

Overall, it’s not bad for kids whose brains haven’t developed to the stage where they can spot that this film has more plot holes than the old tree in the middle of the Woodpecker Academy’s main training ground and can’t tell a good performance from one of Ben Affleck’s, but for the rest of us it’s not quite fun enough to overcome its inherent weaknesses. 3 stars as 2 seems a little cruel, but I can’t recommend it. (I’m glad I borrowed this rather than paying money to see it, maybe my rating would be a bit harsher if I had handed over money…)

The obvious comparison to this movie that springs to mind is the recent Sahara, but even with Penelope Cruz in that manages to be far superior. If you’re thinking of seeing one or the other, go for Sahara. (Or if you haven’t seen Raiders of the Lost Ark for a while, see that instead! :-D)

Related Links

Nicolas Cage also starred in the nice romantic comedy The Family Man

Helen Kruger looked a whole lot prettier in Troy

Jon Turteltaub directed the hilarious Cool Runnings

Jerry Bruckheimer produced the wonderful Pirates of the Caribbean and the infinitely cheesy Top Gun

And no prizes for guessing that this doesn't feature in my Top Ten Films of 2004 list!

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