Tweet

EMAIL

PRINT

Comments (0)

Related articles and links |  1 of 4

Recent debates over proposed amendments have provoked concern the U.S. Constitution should be preserved. The premise of a new action film suggests, however, that it's the Declaration of Independence might be in more serious danger.

Nicolas Cage won an Oscar for Leaving Las Vegas, opening up opportunities to a wide range of high-profile roles—and he chose to do comic book spin-offs and action movies. While his attempts to get his own comic book franchise have fallen short (Ghost Rider never happened, and rumors of Cage as Superman fizzled), he's flexed his muscles and machismo in adrenalin-rush action flicks like The Rock, Con Air, Face/Off, and Gone in 60 Seconds. He's won some good box office totals, but his reputation as an actor has suffered. So, occasionally, he reminds us of his award-caliber potential, as in the case of Adaptation and Matchstick Men. Now he's trying something new—a "family-friendly" cliffhanger adventure—and he's a box office champion once again.

National Treasure could be called Cage's Indiana Jones film. Almost every review compares his treasure-hunting hero, Benjamin Franklin Gates, to the heroic, whip-wielding archaeologist, but only in the way that a feeble imitator is compared to a classic. Some note a similarity to The Da Vinci Code, in that the hero has discovered a conspiracy related to a secret message that is attached to a historical document. But instead of finding scandalous revelations about religion, Gates finds a treasure map. And instead of finding it in a painting, he finds it in the founding fathers' Declaration.

He's not alone in his discovery. Another hunter and the FBI are on the case. So he decides the only way to protect the document's secrets is to steal it himself. And if you think that sounds implausible, you're in for quite a trip. According to mainstream critics, National Treasure heaps one unlikely development upon another until it toes the line of inadvertent parody.

Director John Turteltaub, who directed Three Ninjas, Cool Runnings, and The Kid, steps up to his biggest project yet. He knows the routine—brawny hero, beautiful romantic interest (Troy's Diane Kruger), a villain (Sean Bean) complete with foreign accent, and plenty of adventures involving traps and puzzles. And he's got an admirable cast, including John Voight, Harvey Keitel, and Christopher Plummer.

But the reviews he's winning from religious press critics are a mix of moderate approval and disappointment. Most find it inoffensive, but unremarkable.

Peter T. Chattaway (Christianity Today Movies) says National Treasure "can be enjoyed as preposterous fun, even when you sense that the cast and crew are just going through the motions. There is a certain Indiana Jones quality to the proceedings … but without that brush of the transcendent or supernatural that made Indy's adventures more than just jazzed-up Saturday-matinee fare. If you can see the film through the eyes of a relatively young boy or girl—one who can separate fact from fiction, and one who thinks a cheesy thriller is the ideal way to pick up new facts about the history of his country—then this isn't that bad a yarn, really."

Bob Smithouser (Plugged In) says, "Fans of smartly layered mysteries that slip viewers subtle hints, rewarding them in the end for their astuteness, will be frustrated. We're not challenged to solve a puzzle, but just hang with the heroes while they do. Fortunately, the cat-and-mouse game … creates enough tension to bridge the ho-hum epiphanies."

next page... |  1 of 4

November (Web-only) 2004, Vol. 48