National Treasure...Where's the Nazis?

When NATIONAL TREASURE was released late year I thought...No way! A movie about treasure hunting without Indiana Jones or Angelina Jolie's lips?!...I'll pass. But when on the road for work, stuck in a hotel room I decided to shell out $9.99 plus .35 cents for handling and applicable taxes and watch NATIONAL TREASURE. Maybe it was the western air, maybe it was the huge steak I ate earlier that evening that put me in a heavenly mood...Regardless...I enjoyed NATIONAL TREASURE.

Nicholas Cage is usually hit or miss. When an actor is in as many roles as Cage you are bound to waste a few reels of film now and then (gee...Does he need the cash like DeNiro?), remember 8MM, TRAPPED IN PARADISE, and SNAKE EYES?...yikes! In NT Cage plays the youngest in the Gates family. The Gates clan believe that America's founding fathers incorporated clues to hidden loot in various "national treasures" such as the Declaration of Independence and the Liberty Bell. As the heroes run from bad guys in Washington D.C. and Philadelphia I became increasingly entertained and interested in the next "national treasure" that was securing the next clue to the hidden treasure...Like I said above, maybe I was delirious from the huge steak.

The one negative aspect to NT is the villain. When it comes to treasure hunting movies I prefer the villains to be Nazis. When Nazis are involved I root for the good guys a little harder and cheer a little louder when the Nazis fail. Can you imagine RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARC "10" and INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE "8" without Nazis as the villains? In NT, the villain is played by Sean Bean (no relation to Mr. Bean). He plays the role flat and isn't very menacing. Other than trying to blow up Cage and his crew at the beginning of the movie with 200 year old gun powder, he doesn't try very hard to rub out the good guys.

On the other hand, the producers of the flick can be commended for this. The violence is reduced to explosions and fist fights. At the end of NT the villain gets arrested! In an action movie isn't the villain supposed to die with a bullet to the head or in a fiery explosion? NATIONAL TREASURE is a fun family movie that parents can watch with younger teenagers, and both will enjoy it. NATIONAL TREASURE receives a "7".

Have you seen 1987's RAISING ARIZONA "10"? It is Nicholas Cage's first great movie and is on my top 20 list of all time favorite movies. Check it out!