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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."

Smithouser's thrilled, however, by the film's "family-friendly" qualities. "What Disney hopes to do with films like National Treasure is reposition its big-budget, live-action fare as more accessible to families. If it manages to revolutionize Hollywood's approach to live-action family films, it truly would be a national treasure."

Phil Boatwright (CBN) says, "If you can leave all reasoning power at the ticket booth, you will have a fun time with this witty, clean and often exciting adventure. Course, if you begin to use logic, the story quickly falls apart."

Annabelle Robertson (Crosswalk) is pleased by what the movie doesn't have. "[The filmmakers] are to be commended for making a thriller with almost no profanities and very little violence." But she's bothered by what it does have—"serious difficulties," "bad acting," "large holes in the plot," "too many climaxes to count," a "morally shaky" premise, and dialogue that "has a tendency toward the ridiculous."

Douglas Downs (Christian Spotlight) describes it as "a fun, clean action adventure for the entire family. It is a wonderful offering for those that enjoy high wire suspense with an Indiana Jones type flavor." But he objects to the glorification of the Freemasons, "a secret, subversive anti-Christian group with roots that go deep into the occult."

Michael Elliott (Movie Parables) says, "It's big; it's bold; it's completely implausible; it's entertaining enough to be popular among the masses; and it's bad enough to make critics cringe and once again bemoan the fallen state of the art they love."

"A copy of Thomas Paine's 1776 tract, 'Common Sense,' surfaces in one scene, which is exactly what the implausible script is sorely missing," remarks David DiCerto (Catholic News Service). "Cage is appealing enough, but lacks any chemistry with Kruger, a problem compounded by the film's lame dialogue."

Mike Parnell (Ethics Daily) says, "National Treasure wants to be like an Indiana Jones movie. There are thrills and spills, lots of action, and an undercurrent of religion. But instead of focusing on a traditional religion like Judaism or Christianity, we get a focus on civil religion and its relics of American history. National Treasure raises America's historical documents to the level of religious significance. But what makes National Treasure such a marginal movie is its cookie-cutter approach to characterization. There is no nuance—just a villain with a foreign accent who underscores the movie's belief that America is sacred."

Steven D. Greydanus (Decent Films) says, "In its general approach if not all particulars, Treasure could represent a promising new approach in family entertainment. The annoying Freemason stuff aside, National Treasure works fairly well as slick, enjoyable hooey."

Josh Hurst (Reveal) writes, "There is far too little wit and imagination on display to give National Treasure the same spark that made Pirates of the Caribbean such a delight. But it does offer enough adrenaline-rush action adventure to make it well worth catching at a matinee. Who knew that history could be so much fun?"

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