National Treasure
From AwardAnnals
 | |
| Director(s) | Jon Turteltaub |
|---|---|
| Distributor | Buena Vista Home Entertainment |
| Honors | |
| Ever since he was a boy Benjamin Franklin Gates (Cage) has been obsessed with finding a treasure few dare to believe exists—the legendary Knights Templar Treasure. As Gates tries to find and decipher ancient riddles that will lead him to the greatest treasure known to man he’s dogged by a ruthless enemy who wants it for himself. Now in a race against time Gates must steal one of America’s most sacred and guarded documents—the Declaration of Independence—or let it and a key clue to the mystery fall into dangerous hands. Heart-pounding chases close calls and the FBI turn Gates’ quest into a high-stakes crime caper and the most exciting treasure hunt you’ve ever experienced. | |
From Jerry Bruckheimer producer of Pirates of the Caribbean and Jon Turteltaub director of Phenomenon" comes National Treasure the thrilling edge-of-your-seat adventure starring Academy Award(R) winner Nicolas Cage.
Ever since he was a boy Benjamin Franklin Gates (Cage) has been obsessed with finding a treasure few dare to believe exists—the legendary Knights Templar Treasure. As Gates tries to find and decipher ancient riddles that will lead him to the greatest treasure known to man he’s dogged by a ruthless enemy who wants it for himself. Now in a race against time Gates must steal one of America’s most sacred and guarded documents—the Declaration of Independence—or let it and a key clue to the mystery fall into dangerous hands. Heart-pounding chases close calls and the FBI turn Gates’ quest into a high-stakes crime caper and the most exciting treasure hunt you’ve ever experienced.
Reviews
Amazon.com
Like a Hardy Boys mystery on steroids, National Treasure offers popcorn thrills and enough boyish charm to overcome its rampant silliness. Although it was roundly criticized as a poor man’s rip-off of Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Da Vinci Code, it’s entertaining on its own ludicrous terms, and Nicolas Cage proves once again that one actor’s infectious enthusiasm can compensate for a multitude of movie sins. The contrived plot involves Cage’s present-day quest for the ancient treasure of the Knights Templar, kept secret through the ages by Freemasons past and present. Finding the treasure requires the theft of the Declaration of Independence (there are crucial treasure clues on the back, of course!), so you can add “caper comedy” to this Jerry Bruckheimer production’s multi-genre appeal. Nobody will ever accuse director Jon Turtletaub of artistic ambition, but you’ve got to admit he serves up an enjoyable dose of PG-rated entertainment, full of musty clues, skeletons, deep tunnels, and harmless adventure in the old-school tradition. It’s a load of hokum, but it’s fun hokum, and that makes all the difference. —Jeff Shannon
Barnes and Noble
Although this rousing adventure film takes place in the present and sports any number of up-to-the-minute gadgets and gimmicks, it’s firmly rooted in the high-adventure style of an earlier era. We’ll go so far as to say that National Treasure could just as easily have been made 50 years ago. But then it wouldn’t have had Nicolas Cage, who infuses his derring-do with even more believability than the script demands. He plays Ben Gates, the youngest in a family of historians dedicated to uncovering a fabulous treasure secreted by our country’s Founding Fathers during the Revolutionary War. As the movie begins, Ben has already deciphered several coded clues to the treasure’s whereabouts that are sprinkled—here the film echoes the bestselling novel The Da Vinci Code—throughout the Declaration of Independence and other historic documents, and even our paper money. And he’s managed to convince National Archives worker Abigail Chase (Diane Kruger) that he’s on the level. Now all they have to do is get to the buried riches before unscrupulous Ian Howe (Sean Bean) confiscates the stash. Director Jon Turteltaub (While You Were Sleeping) paces National Treasure like one of those old Saturday-matinee cliff-hangers: chase, capture, rescue, and all over again. He breezes past the yarn’s improbabilities—which, we must confess, are myriad—and concentrates on pumping up the action sequences until they’ve reached a feverish, nail-biting intensity. We have always felt that Cage was one of the screen’s unlikeliest action heroes, but he brings such intensity to the film that you can’t help but believe him, even in the most outlandish situations. Jon Voight lends strong support as his father, and Christopher Plummer completes the family tree with a twinkly-eyed turn as Cage’s grandpa. For two hours of wildly implausible fun, you could hardly do better than National Treasure. Ed Hulse
Related works
National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets
Join Nicolas Cage on a heart-pounding adventure that will have you on the edge of your seat in a race to find the Lost City of Gold. Grounded in history imbued with myth and mystery Disney’s National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets takes you on a globe-trotting quest full of adrenaline-pumping twists and turns—all leading to the final clue in a mysterious and highly guarded book containing centuries of secrets. But there’s only one way to find it—Ben Gates must kidnap the President. Packed with fast-paced action and crackling humor National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets is a movie your entire family will want to rediscover again and again.
