National Treasure (Widescreen Edition)

Adventure, Action

Nicolas Cage	Ben Gates
Diane Kruger	Abigail Chase
Justin Bartha	Riley Poole
Sean Bean	Ian Howe
Harvey Keitel	Sadusky
Christopher Plummer	John Adams Gates
Jon Voight	Patrick Gates
David Dayan Fisher	Shaw
Stewart Finlay-McLennan	Powell
Oleg Taktarov	Shippen

Director	Jon Turteltaub
Producer	Jerry Bruckheimer; Jon Turteltaub
Writer	Jim Kouf; Cormac Wibberley; Oren Aviv

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