I first saw a preview for Nicolas Cage's new movie National Treasure a few months ago at the theater. I thought that the movie looked interesting and I decided I wanted to see it. The preview made it seem like National Treasure would somewhat like the book The Da Vinci Code, which I read a few months ago and really enjoyed.
When Benjamin Franklin Gates was young, his grandfather, John Adams Gates, told him about a legend that passed down in their family for more than a hundred years. The legend dealt with a treasure that contained riches from Egypt and Europe and hidden by the founding fathers of the United States. The Knights Templar and the Freemasons were involved in the history of the treasure and in hiding it. Clues were left hidden around the new country. The Gates family learned about the treasure when one member was told about it and a single clue by the last surviving signer of the Declaration of Independence. The Gates family then spent years searching for the clues and the treasure. Ben was intrigued by the idea of searching for the treasure. His father Patrick didn't feel the same way and thought it was a waste of time.
Ben studied American history and became a treasure hunter. His family was considered to be kooks because of the legend of the treasure. No one believed it existed, but Ben was still searching. He got Ian Howe to fund an expedition. Ben figured out what the clue his ancestor received meant and actually found the location. Ian was disappointed that the treasure wasn't there, but he wanted to keep looking. Ben did figure out the clue he found meant there was an invisible map on the back of the Declaration of Independence. He and Ian had a disagreement over their next step to find the treasure. Ian was already planning to steal the Declaration. There was a confrontation that left Ben and Riley, a man working with Ben, stranded in the Arctic Circle.
Once Ben and Riley made it to Washington, D.C., they went to the FBI, Homeland Security, and the National Archives to warn someone about Ian's plan. Dr. Abigail Chase, who worked at the Archives, didn't believe Ben, but she did seem drawn to him when she saw him again later. Ben decided that since no one believed him about Ian, he would have to steal the Declaration to protect it. Abigail ended up involved in Ben's plans. She didn't want anything to do with what was going on at first, but she did become more intrigued, especially after she and Ben discovered something. Ben, Abigail, and Riley were following more clues and trying to stay one step ahead of Ian and the FBI. Patrick ended up somewhat involved as well.
Basically everything that happened in National Treasure was tied to the hunt for the treasure in some way. Ben's grandfather told him about the treasure in 1975, and Ben was determined to look for it and find it once he was an adult. That did cause some conflict with his father. Patrick felt it was a waste of time to look for the treasure. He looked for twenty years and got no where before giving up. He thought his son should give up as well. The idea of there being a huge hidden treasure just waiting to be discovered is intriguing. There have been people searching for lost treasures for years. Some people have discovered some things, but many more haven't. I thought it was believable that someone would devote so much of their life to searching for a treasure. The clues for what Ben was looking for were hidden in objects and buildings where people who weren't specifically looking for them would look past. I thought that the clues and the process of figuring out what they referred to were very interesting. I find things like that fascinating. People who aren't interested in those things could be bored with the movie
I thought National Treasure was a fun adventure movie. It reminded me of the Indian Jones and Tomb Raider movies. I don't think there was as much action in this one as there was in those other movies, but there was some. There was a car chase, an explosion, and even some shooting. The movie wasn't action packed or that violent. There was a bit of mystery related to the treasure. There was some suspense in different scenes of the movie. There were times when I wasn't sure what would happen next. There were a few things that happened were a bit predictable, but that didn't bother me. I find that normal for this type of movie. It is necessary for people to have open minds and suspend their belief some to really enjoy this type of movie. Some adventure type movies require this more than others. There were a few things in this movie that were a bit unbelievable, but not as many as there were in some other similar movies. There were moments of humor added in here and there throughout the movie. I don't consider it to be a comedy, but it did make me laugh several times. The things that made me laugh were things that one of the characters, often Ben or Riley, said or did.
Ben was interested in history and finding lost treasures a lot like Indiana and Lara were in the Indian Jones and Tomb Raider movies. He mainly had to use his brain to figure out the clues, and didn't resort to using force and threats to get what he wanted like Ian did. Ian did work out a few clues on his own, but he wasn't as good at that as Ben was. Once Abigail got involved, she ended up being good at that as well. I do like movies with more action in them at times, but it was nice to see one where people used their brains instead of fists. There was a lot going on to keep the movie interesting. It was fast paced, but I didn't think it was rushed. People who have enjoyed those other movies may also like this one.
Things related to history played a part in National Treasure. The treasure that Ben was looking for was supposed to be one collected by the Knights Templar and it somehow made its way to the colonies before the Revolutionary War. The Knights Templar were a real group in Europe. They also turn up in The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. The Freemasons, a group that still exists to this day, was also involved with the treasure and hiding it. It is known that several men that signed the Declaration of Independence were Freemasons. The map was hidden on the Declaration of Independence, one of the most important documents in the United States. The clues to decoding the map and finding the treasure were in some places that were important historical structures. There were things in the movie that were true, but the treasure was fictional. I have read some things that indicate that some people do believe there is some sort of treasure hidden in the United States though.
Ben was the main character in National Treasure so he was the most developed. Even he wasn't fully developed though. Not much time was spent on developing any of the characters, so some of them were rather flat. The only things about Ben that were shared had to do with his dedication to finding the treasure. His grandfather had shared that dedication. Patrick thought it was only a legend and that Ben was wasting his life looking for it. He was only around in a few scenes, but it was clear how he felt. Riley was a very flat character. Nothing much about him was shared at all. Abigail wasn't really developed anymore, though it was shown that she liked history and was intrigued by Ben's idea once they discovered something. Agent Sadusky was only around in a few scenes chasing after Ben and Ian. He wasn't developed at all.
Nicolas Cage was very good as Ben. He was believable in the part. I have seen several of his movies and I usually enjoy them. I liked his character in this movie more than I did in Matchstick Men. Sean Bean was very good as Ian. He recently played Boromir in The Lord of the Rings movies. This part was a bit different from that one. I thought he also made a good villain in Goldeneye. He was in Troy earlier this year with Diane Kruger. I haven't seen that movie yet, so this was the first thing I had seen her in. She was fine as Abigail. I hadn't seen Justin Bartha in any other movies before this one. I liked him as Riley. Jon Voight didn't have much to do, but he was good in his scenes. He had a different sort of role, though also smaller, in The Manchurian Candidate. I didn't recognize Harvey Keitel as Sadusky. Christopher Plummer had a very small part at the beginning of the movie as Ben's grandfather. He was good in that scene.
CHARACTERS
Benjamin Franklin Gates - Treasure hunter that was searching for a treasure he believed had been hidden by the founding fathers of the United States. His family had been searching for the treasure for more than a hundred years and the family had a questionable reputation in academic circles because of that. Ben was intelligent and good at solving clues. He wanted to find the treasure, but he wanted to protect the Declaration of Independence as well.
Riley Poole - He worked with Ben on the hunt. He didn't know as much about history as Ben did.
Dr. Abigail Chase - She worked at the National Archives. She liked history as well, and had a collection of items connected to George Washington. She was very intelligent. She wanted to protect the Declaration, but she was also intrigued by the idea of the treasure. She wasn't sure what to think of Ben at first. There was an attraction between them.
Patrick Gates - Ben's father. He had looked for the treasure for twenty years before giving up. He didn't believe it existed and was frustrated that his son kept looking for it.
Ian Howe - He provided the funding for Ben's trip to the arctic circle to search for a clue for the treasure. Ian believed in the treasure and wanted it for himself. He didn't share that he had a questionable past until after they were in the arctic. Ian was determined to get the treasure, and he was willing to go to any lengths necessary to do it.
Agent Sadusky - The FBI agent in charge of the investigation.
CAST
Justin Bartha - Riley Sean Bean - Ian Howe Nicolas Cage - Benjamin Franklin Gates Harvey Keitel - Agent Sadusky Diane Kruger - Abigail Chase Christopher Plummer - John Adams Gates Jon Voight - Patrick Gates
National Treasure was released on November 19, 2004. The movie was 100 minutes long and rated PG. There really wasn't anything objectionable or offensive in the movie. There were several young children in the theater when I saw the movie. I didn't really think this was a movie children would be interested in, but they seemed to stay interested. None of them were running up and down the aisle like I have seen other times. This could be a good movie for families to go to together if the parents think they children would stay interested in what was going on.
I really enjoyed National Treasure. I thought it was an entertaining adventure movie and one of the more enjoyable movies I have seen this year. I am sure I will be adding the DVD to my collection. Nicolas Cage fans will probably want to see this movie. People who enjoyed the Indiana Jones or Tomb Raider movies, or The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown, may also enjoy this one.
The website for the movie has some interesting content, including some screen savers and some games. There is information about the plot of the movie, including some things that will be spoilers for people who haven't seen the movie yet.
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