Credit: www.impawards.com
Director:
Jon Turteltaub
Starring:
Nicolas Cage……….Benjamin Franklin Gates
Justin Bartha……….Riley Poole
Sean Bean……….Ian Howe
Diane Kruger……….Abigail Chase
Harvey Keitel……….Sadusky
Jon Voight……….Patrick Gates
Christopher Plummer……….John Adams Gates
Walt Disney Pictures presents the film National Treasure. Written by Jim Kouf, Cormac Wibberley and Marianne Wibberley. Running time: 100 minutes. Rated PG (for action violence and some scary images).
Unless you are oblivious to books, or bookstores for that matter, you would know that The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown is selling like crazy. Having spent 80 weeks on the New York Times Bestseller List, Brown’s novel has gained the attention of such a varied audience. Religious zealots and skeptics alike are enthralled with the novel debating its method of combining speculative evidence and religious faith. Readers love it because it is a breezy read with cliffhangers at the end of each chapter. Ron “Please don’t call me Opie” Howard enjoys the novel because he and producing partner Brian Grazer have the rights to the book.
Jerry Bruckheimer may have lost the bidding war; but he was determined to have his own Da Vinci Code. What he delivers is a watered down book-to-screen version. In National Treasure, a present day investigator (Nicolas Cage as Benjamin Franklin Gates) is like a poor man’s Indiana Jones who follows clues and riddles to unearth a mythical treasure. The Knights Templar and the Masons, respectively, safeguarded the ancient riches when they moved from the Middle East to America. For twenty-odd years Benjamin devoted his life to finding this hidden treasure. The only clue he had was the word “Charlotte.” After procuring the necessary funds for an artic expedition he leads his crew and discovers that “Charlotte” was a ship out from 19th Century Boston, Mass.
The clues on the ship lead Benjamin to believe that a map to the treasure was written with invisible ink on the back of the Declaration of Independence. Talk about your high concept movie. If your mind hasn’t already suspended belief, now is the time for it to do so. This is where things get weird.
Running out of options – the Bureau and Homeland Security were uncooperative – Benjamin and his geekish assistant Riley (Justin Bartha) decide to steal the document. (Too bad Hudson Hawk wasn’t available; that would have been a great scene.) Along the way National Archivist Dr. Abigail Chase (Diane Kruger) becomes enamored by Benjamin and decides to help him solve the mystery. The typical Bruckheimer car chase ensues and, like most of his car chases, it serves no purpose other than present a jolly opportunity to see a damsel in a dress hanging from a speeding vehicle.
Casting is a big impairment to this movie. There was a time when Bruckheimer gave us a “who’s who” list of Hollywood talent. Tom Cruise, Will Smith, Johnny Depp, Denzel Washington, and Ben Affleck (okay, not Ben Affleck). That’s not to say that Nicolas Cage is only window-dressing. In fact, Cage has been Bruckheimer’s indispensable action hero, having appeared in four of his movies. (Will Smith and Ben Affleck are tied for second place.) The reason behind the Cage and Bruckheimer high concept projects is simple. Nicolas Cage is believable as an action star. He exemplifies that average guy persona most action movie producers were searching for post-Bruce Willis in Die Hard.
Whereas the typical hero would shoot a gun or attempt Kung-fu, Benjamin Gates doesn’t bother. He is a protagonist who doesn’t resort to gunplay or martial arts; he uses his wits to outsmart the competition. That’s something you don’t see everyday in an action-adventure movie.
Despite the ingenuity of the main character, National Treasure still has goose chases with characters hanging from broken stairs and jumping rifts. Accordingly, Bruckheimer gives the viewers what they like – mediocre action sequences and uninspired acting. The biggest weakness, however, didn’t come from direction or acting but from storytelling. Copying and pasting elements from Indiana Jones, The Thomas Crown Affair and the aforementioned Da Vinci Code doesn’t help matters much. Sure, imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery but when there’s a hackneyed script, what’s the point? And when you look at the track record for the screenwriters (Taxi, Snow Dogs, Bad Boys II, Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle and I Spy) you’d know this was a bad idea for a movie before the actors and director Jon Turteltaub were attached to the project.
Why Mr. Bruckheimer would want to do a weak version of The Da Vinci Code is anyone’s guess. National Treasure is not a bad movie, just not a very good one. With some script polishing and more emphasis on plot than action, this could have been quite the matinee attraction. Jerry Bruckheimer needs to stop looking for his next high concept action-adventure, take a step back and make movies where the story comes first. Hey, if the guy who directed The Terminator can win an Oscar anything is possible.
