Ladies & gentlemen, for today’s review, I was not originally planning to rewatch it as recently as I did. In fact, I was supposed to get a couple friends of mine introduced to Aquaman. However, the copy that I checked out didn’t work, unfortunately. As a result, we searched for films to watch, and agreed upon this film from 2004, National Treasure. With that said, let’s dive into this treasure hunt of a film!
Plot: Set in modern times, Benjamin Gates (Hunter Gomez as young Ben Gates; Nicholas Cage as adult Benjamin Gates) is told by his grandfather John Gates (Christopher Plummer) of a fabled treasure that was built and protected first by the Knights Templar, then Freemasons, followed by America’s Founding Fathers. Though his father (Jon Voight) is skeptical of the idea, Ben Gates decides to find it with assistance of friends Riley Poole (Justin Bartha), and Dr. Abigail Chase (Diane Kruger). Can they find it before certain traitors to Gates family find it first?
Okay, considering that this came out nearly a year and a half after 2003’s Pirates Of The Caribbean, there’s no denying that director Jon Turteltaub, and his team seemed to do a mostly great job of making a really fun story. Why? Well, to begin, while National Treasure might act as an action adventure to a degree, the film is not your typical Mission Impossible, Get Smart, or movies like that. In fact, this film seems to do a surprisingly outstanding job of acting more unique and different from your typical action movie. Not only that, but National Treasure also does a splendid job of basically trying to be it’s own kind of film too. Sure, there are maybe some times where the film could have felt as if might have had a Disney cartoon sort of feel. However, if this movie had been an animated film, this movie could have easily become proof that a Disney animated film didn’t need to have things such as your classic side character, or things like that. However, of course this film was live-action. Man, let’s just say that Disney did seem to really step up their game with their live-action films like this one, 2003’s Pirates Of The Caribbean, 2005’s Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, & The Wardrobe, and quite a few other of their live-action movies that came out around this time period. Also, there are points in time where the script is fantastic, most notably when you hear some funny lines from characters like Riley, or even some of the other characters in this film. Additionally, as you watch this film, you find yourself asking if it’s worth taking certain risks to find earthly treasures. There’s that, and how far should one be willing to go to become famous for something, you know? Not bad questions to think about as you watch this film, eh? Anyway, the story, overall, also does a really good job of knowing of how long it’s running length needs to be, how well developed it’s story needs to be, and how much character build-up there needs to be as well. Honestly, as I watched films like this, and 1964’s Mary Poppins in more recent years, I’ve found myself wondering, why has Disney never made an animated film with a running length of around 120-140 minutes (except for Fantasia back in 1940)? Is it because of the fact that, unlike live-action movies, animated movies take more work from drawing certain scenes, or other factors? Well, whatever the reasons, it’s safe to say that because Disney has been known to take certain risks before, as well as films like National Treasure being made, maybe the company should have either made films with a running time of a couple hours, or slightly over that, either around periods like the early 2000s, or perhaps should give it a shot sometime in the near future, if necessary, as well.
With all of that said, is there anything bad about this film? Well, the only downside to National Treasure is Sean Bean as the villain of this film. Okay, okay, hear me out for a moment! Sean Bean is not a bad actor. In fact, he has done well with his acting skills. 2004’s National Treasure is no exception. However, part of the problem here is that Bean seemed to play the same type of character in movies like this, 2001’s Lord Of The Rings to a lesser degree, and apparently quite a few other movies throughout the 2000s, if not before. Well, evidently, rumor has it that Sean Bean himself seemed to eventually get tired of playing that same type of character over and over again for the most part. Because of this, some of us can likely agree that maybe Bean should have maybe played a different role in this film, and maybe mixed up his roles with other films as well.
And that concludes my review for National Treasure. The film does well with acting like a stand alone film from your typical action movie. Not only that, but National Treasure has a good score by Trevor Rabin, some really hilarious moments, really well-written characters, and a very fun story overall. If you want to see a sort of action movie that acts more different and more light-hearted from this genre of a film, then all the more reason to make sure to see this one of you still have yet to. You’ll more than likely have a really fun time with National Treasure.
Final Grade: A
Matthew’s Animated & Live-Action Movie Reviews 