SNMR 6.11: "National Treasure"

Tonight's SNMR feature is "National Treasure" (2004, PG, 131 minutes), starring Nicholas Cage, Diane Kruger, Justin Bartha, Sean Bean, Jon Voight, Harvey Keitel and Christopher Plummer. The film was directed by John Turteltaub.

PLOT SUMMARY: Benjamin Franklin Gates (Cage) is the latest in a long line of treasure hunters, looking for a tremendous treasure that has been hidden since before the American Revolution and guarded by many puzzling clues. Now on the trail of the treasure, Ben must steal the Declaration of Independence in order to see the next clue. Ben's one time benefactor, Ian (Bean) is now his rival and will do anything to get to the treasure first. In order to do it he has to fool the Director of the National Archives, Abigail Chase (Kruger) and outwit the FBI who is hot on his tail.

MY OPINION: For some reason, this is a film that I always wanted to see but never did until recently. Thought about buying the DVD but the stores I went to only seemed to have the full screen edition and never the wide screen edition. All I can say is wow! I knew that this movie would be good but I wasn't prepared for such a fast paced and amusing tale. Also, I've traditionally been a bit iffy on the talents of Nicholas Cage. This film goes a long way to erasing those concerns. Sean Bean is an excellentactor and makes for a great bad guy that you almost want to root for.

The script is smartly written and the story sucks you right in. The action is constant and the movie has a good flow to it. Sure it's a bit hokey but that's okay. I'm eventually going to buy this DVD (the wide screen two-disc special edition), because this film is worthy enough to merit repeat viewings. I liked this movie and I think you will too.

***** out of *****