National Treasure (2004)
National Treasure Surprisingly, "National
Treasure" is a warm and wonderful action film that
takes "Indiana Jones" style action and gives it the
kick of American history to make for a film that is
fun to watch and interesting to think about.
Nick Cage is perfect as Ben Gates,
a conspiracy theorist whose family has consistently
been labelled "kooks" because they believe that a
huge treasure was hidden by the founding fathers to
keep it from being found by the British. Eventually
Cage goes on a hunt that will involve The Declaration
of Independence, The Liberty Bell and a whole lot
of information about Benjamin Franklin.
The film is action packed, rarely
slowing down for wordy explanations other than word
puzzles and deciphering clues hidden in riddles. We
enjoy the cat and mouse game Cage undergoes both with
a rival who has impure intentions and the FBI, who
thinks he's a thief. And for good measure theres a
cute young sidekick (Justin Bartha, now forgivable
for his work in "Gigli") and a love interest (Diane
Kruger, who is now forgiven for being in one of this
years big flops, "Wicker Park"). This trip has great
chemistry. Bartha is funny and cute and Kruger is
hot and smart. Cage is lucky to have such talented
co-stars.
"National Treasure" has a great
reverence for the history of The United States, in
particular, The Declaration of Independence, Franklin,
the Founding Fathers and the Masons. Now, I don't
know what the Masons are really all about. There's
much innuendo and conjecture about that fraternal
organization. It's been lampooned on "The Simpsons"
and tons of books and on-line sites offer theories
about them. The Founding Fathers were made up of several
Masons. They are an intriguing group.
(A side note: My Grandfather was
a Mason. He wore a ring with the Masonic emblem on
it until the day he died. It was small and cut into
his massive finger, as if he had worn it since he
was very young. I asked him about it a couple times
but he didn't say much about them. A WWII vet, a Teamster
and a hell of a man, he died when I was 17, before
I had a chance to know him as an adult. I wish he
were around now so I could ask him more about the
Masons and about his life).
Anyway - back to "National Treasure"
- In one scene, Cage utters, "The Declaration of Independence
is not a bargaining chip." I got pretty teary-eyed
at that line. And even with its silly villain and
its obvious and sometimes unbelievable plot twists,
you've got to like a film that has such a big love
of American history. If one kid sees this film and
becomes interested in the story of the Revolutionary
War and the founding of America, then this film is
a triumph.
Notes:
Also with Sean Bean, Harvey Keitel,
and Jon Voight.
Directed by Jon Turteltaub. Written
by Jim Kouf, Cormac Wibberley and Marianne Wibberley.
Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer. The typical and bombastic
score is by Trevor Rabin.
Viewed in Austin in December 2004.
