National Treasure (2004): A Review

Benjamin Franklin Gates (Nicolas Cage) has an extreme passion for history. When Ben was a boy he was told a story about his great grandfather, several more greats, involving a secret treasure. As a grown man, Ben can think of nothing else but finding this lost treasure. He is able to find what he thinks is the burial location only to find that it is just another clue. Unfortunately, his employer Ian Howe (Sean Bean) wants to keep the treasure all to himself and attempts to kill Ben and partner Riley (Justin Bartha). After figuring out what the clue means, Ben realizes that he must betray, and protect, his country by stealing the Declaration of Independence.

As far as educational family films go, this one is at the top of my list. Nicolas Cage does an excellent job as the overwhelmingly intelligent historian and Bartha proves proficient as the comedic sidekick. I'm very impressed how Disney films have shifted their movie making paradigm to appeal to adults as well as children. This makes watching family films much more enjoyable to the adults. I also really enjoy that the filmmakers attempt to make history fun. Of course there are a certain number of plot holes in the film but it doesn't need to be bulletproof in order to make it an entertaining film. I also got a pretty heavy Indiana Jones feel from it. T

hat's probably part of the reason I found it as enjoyable as I did. I was actually expecting this film to be a pretty action heavy flick, as most Nicolas Cage films are, but it had heavy dialogue and a lot of plot development. All of these characteristics made the film come together very well. Overall, it's just good clean family fun and deserves a rating of 8/10 stars.