I am in a Nic Cage sort of mood after watching Face/Off last night, which is fucking awesome by the way. So today I decided to pick a more tame Nic Cage movie, one in which he does just fucking flip out all of a sudden and be the Nic Cage we all know and love. Today’s flick is a Disney adventure film that tries to come up with their own Indiana Jones like treasure hunter and frankly a very enjoyable adventure film. National Treasure certainly taught me more about the Declaration of Independence than public schooling did, which is a sad testament of our public education system.
Benjamin Franklin Gates (Nicolas Cage) is an archeologist who is from the eighth generation of a family who has shared an unusual quest. As Gates-family legend has it, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin hid a massive cache of gold during the waning days of the Revolutionary War and left clues as to its whereabouts in the original drafts of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. With no firm proof that it actually exists, Gates sets out to crack the code that will lead him to the fortune, which, as a member of the Gates clan, he is sworn to protect from wrongdoers. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
As highly improbable the plot line is, this is still a fun ride. Disney certainly knows how to make an entertaining ride along with John Turteltaub turning in a decent directing job. Hell the man made 3 Ninjas, he gets a pass from me now and then. But while the critics were rather harsh on the movie, I think it’s an enjoyable popcorn film with enough excitement to keep me entertained and one of the few movies where Nic Cage isn’t running around and punching women dressed as a bear. Also this is another rare movie in which Sean Bean doesn’t die in, so hooray for him not perishing in this movie.
Anyways, National Treasure is pure popcorn flick status, with a high elaborate and incredibly improbable plot line that probably had hundreds of people looking at the back of their money for clues to a non-existent treasure. It’s the unfolding of the clues that keep us moving through the movie, which has a few moments that are dull and drag out the film, but for the most part it keeps the tension and excitement high as we discover more clues to a treasure. I like to think our founding fathers were really big into scavenger hunts and riddles, which also happen to be incredibly complicated and elaborate. It all adds up to a fun movie that you can’t even get made or angry at, cause you are watching a Disney movie that happens to be a Indiana Jones like adventure.
I went this whole time without talking about Nic Cage in the role of Benjamin Gates, which is about as founding father like as a name can get. Cage is actually very witty, charming and compelling in this movie. He really does dive into the role of Gates and even the feel that he really enjoys this particular role. His sidekick is Justin Bartha who is really more of a comedic relief as he is relegated to being this comic ploy where Gates can prove his intelligence and bounce ideas off of Bartha. It is still a nice companionship that they have which feels natural and fun to watch. Diane Kruger is also a good folly to the group as she constantly goes along with the insane treasure hunting adventure, but also standing on her own.
Overall, I really enjoyed this movie, more so for the popcorn fun I get from this movie. The adventure is exciting to watch unfold while the characters fit right at home in the movie. Nic Cage is great in this role and while the sequel was more of the same, I still find this first outing to be the best of the series. A harmless movie that does its job at entertaining the audience with a scavenger hunt and distorted sense of history.
