National Treasure (Widescreen Edition)

Nicholas Cage stars in this fun, fast-paced movie that's enjoyable for all ages. Cage stars as Benjamin Gates. His grandfather (Christopher Plummer) and father (Jon Voight) have spent years searching for the treasure of the Knight's Templar. The treasure has been kept secret for years by the Freemasons. Now, Ben decides to carry on the family tradition and search for the treasure himself. Ben, along with two friends, head to Antarctica in search of the first clue. After finding it, Ben discovers that a hidden map may be on the back of the Declaration of Independence. Ben is betrayed by one of his friends, played by Sean Bean. Soon, its a race to Washington D.C to see who can get their hands on the Declaration first.

Along the way, Ben and his other friend Riley, played by Justin Bartha, enlist the help of a woman (Diane Kruger) in Washington who's overseeing the public display of the Declaration. Will Ben get his hands on the Declaration first, or will he be too late?

This is a great movie. The story is very well-conceived. I was amazed at the plot and how well the movie flowed. I was kept guessing throughout the entire move. I watched the move with my three young children, and they absolutely loved it. Jon Voight does a marvelous job as the elder Gates, and it was enjoyable to watch his transformation as being totally against searching for the treasure to totally embracing the search. Nicholas Cage is excellent as the cunning and resourceful Ben Gates; Sean Bean is equally as good as Gates' former friend turned adversary, and Justin Bartha does a good job as Ben's loyal friend Riley.

I give this movie my highest recommendation. The plot is fantastic and the acting is great. Plus, you can watch it with your whole family. Don't miss this great family movie!

National Treasure is literally an unbelievable adventure. There are so many gaping holes in the plausibility of the plot that you must simply suspend your disbelief for the duration of the movie. If you can do that, you will be greatly entertained. What more can you ask of a movie?

First, let's deal with some criticisms. Is it a rip-off of Dan Brown's "The DaVinci Code"? Sure! The timing of the movie, the hidden clues beneath seemingly straight-forward public documents/paintings, and the secret society protecting its great treasure... we'll drop the word 'rip-off' and use 'influenced by' instead.

Does the movie require either the bad guys or the authorities to act naively in order to progress the story? Yep. However we have seen news stories frequently where crooks and lawmen have acted much more foolishly than the characters in this story.

Can anything in this movie be accepted as believable? Well, that's up to you. The pyramid with the glowing eye thing on a $1 bill seems pretty goofy to me, and the guys who dreamed that one up (our Founding Fathers) might be capable of just about anything. We know that the period around the American Revolution was full of secret societies and codes, handshakes, and ways to signify a rebellious spirit. Streets were named backwards, place settings at meals were opposite from the British standard, and documents were hidden in trees, in back of mirrors, and other interesting places. Check your attic!

Would the greatest treasures in the world be directed to an uncivilized colony in turmoil? Probably not. However, where would you bury treasure? In the middle of a busy city? The more you think about it the more plausible the partially civilized American colonies become for a hiding place.

But none of that matters in the least. The movie exists to entertain you. It does that well. Jon Voight is probably the most believable character when you learn that he spent 20 unproductive years chasing clues. His bitterness is well presented, as is his intelligence once he buys back into the dream. He's pretty annoying at times though.

Diane Kruger does as well as she can with the limited role she's given. 'Get in the way, screw things up, fall in love'. It is an old movie cliche. The role calls for her to be complicating eye candy, and she fills the role well.

Sean Bean has the obsessed villain role, and he excels. He makes a couple of implausible decisions, but if you understand that he is driven by money and not simply bad, it makes more sense. He wants the treasure. If he has to kill to get it, okay. If he can get it without killing, that won't bother him. He believes he is immune from getting caught, and that allows Nicholas Cage to live.

Mr. Cage. His sincerity, his obsession to solve the family mystery, his respect for American history, and his high regard for the lives of his friends are completely believable. He makes a few story-advancing bozoisms, such as having a nice chat with Abigail Chase outside the red van knowing that a group of killers are going to show up at any minute looking to make swiss cheese of him. Note to self: if a guy with a gun is chasing you, never climb scaffolding. For an intelligent guy, that move alone should have off'd him years ago. And where is he getting all of the money he needs to pay for all of the adventures and trinkets? The George Washington election badge alone would require that he hold down at least a manager position at the neighborhood McDonald's. Or better.

Okay, nobody donates stuff to museums without at least getting a copy of it. And the museum wouldn't display all of the letters, but would more likely display one or two and store the rest. Trifles, trifles.

Does the movie entertain? Yes. Is it worth buying? Yes. Should you buy "The DaVinci Code" instead? No. The book was exciting and thought-provoking. The movie "The DaVinci Code" was very disappointing. The movie checked off the clues as it went along, and remained as faithful to the book as it could, but it lacked the spirit of the quest that "National Treasure" captured. I viewed both movies expecting to love "The DaVinci Code" and dismiss "National Treasure" as a wanna-be. Instead, I loved "National Treasure", and found that the movie "The DaVinci Code" was the wanna-be for the book. Do I believe either one? Hey, I buy a lotto ticket each week. I'll believe anything!

In one of the more interesting hybrids to pop out of Disney, Nicholas Cage plays Ben Franklin...gates that is, a treasure hunter spanning the globe to prove the family story about a missing treasure guarded for centuries by the Knights Templar and Freemasons. If you're looking for plausibility or realism, you're in the wrong place. But if you want a pop-corn thrill ride where no-one curses and there never seems to be any real danger, climb aboard.

Jerry Bruckheimer, say what you want about him, but he knows how to make a movie go pop. The action here is almost non-stop, the jokes and asides are often clever, and the cast has enough chemistry that the non-action sequences don't drag. Jon Turteltaub directs with a steady hand, as the whole movie, at two hours, it rushes by at lightening speed. It's a snappy enough pace that you don't question little things, like 200 year old ropes that still hold or being able to steal the Declaration of Independence.

Nicholas Cage leads the likable band of thieves, but special note is given to Justin Bartha, who plays sidekick Riley, and to the early cameo by Christopher Plummer, who plays Cage's Grandfather at the beginning of the film. The both take otherwise easily forgettable rolls and make then perfect. Cage plays BF Gates like a slightly less charming Indiana Jones (or a skinnier Tom Hanks in The Da Vinci Code), both films providing the sanitized source material for "National Treasure."

So relax, grab the popcorn and let the kiddies join you. "National Treasure" is a friendly film where the villains are evil but not deadly, the heroes are lovable yet chaste, and everybody has a happy ending...even if Riley has to settle for 1%.

Excellent adventure, mystery, action movie. Well done with some historical factoids plus fantasy eliments.

This is a great start to, hopefully,a new movie franchise. Nicolas Cage is perfect for the role of Benjamin Franklin Gates.