Grade: C+ | Genre: Suspense Summary: Surprisingly, this is an enjoyable film, but it's quite mindless. It doesn't offer anything fresh or new to the adventure genre and comes off as a poor man's Indiana Jones. What if Indiana Jones had plotted his daring adventures in America instead of the leaping through the rich history across the globe? We're not talking about the golden cross of Coronado or anything remotely cool like that. No, we are rolling the date back to the Revolutionary War some 200 years ago, a mere blip in most countries' heritages. What if Indie searched for a treasure passed from the Egyptians, to the Crusaders and ultimately to the Free Masons, better knows as our founding fathers? Sound a little far fetched and more than a bit out there? Welcome to National Treasure, the film where reality never existed. If you enjoy adventure films that don't require you to use any of your mental facilities, I have the perfect film for you.

Nicholas Cage jumps back into that action figure role, complete with swivel armed battle grip, that we got so sick of him playing (The Rock, Con Air, Face/Off) to fill Harrison Ford's boots in what can only be described as Indiana Jones Lite. National Treasure is a quaint little picture that is about as safe as a Hollywood blockbuster can be. It takes the familiar film everyone loved, plugs in the current insatiable hunger for the Da Vinci Code, finds an actor we live to cheer for and relies on fluffy dialog that would make Schwarzenegger happy as a little clam. It's a damn miracle this film is as engrossing as it is.

Ben Gates (Cage) comes from a long line of dreamers. His great-great...grandfather was in the company of Charles Carroll, the last surviving signer of the Declaration of Independence, during his dying moments when he was told of the secret of "Charlotte". This one word harvests the initial clue to the reality of the fabled treasure. Since that fateful day, each generation of Gates men has taken up the quest with varying degrees of passion. In the opening scene, we see Ben plowing through the Artic Circle to dig out a buried ship, which refines another clue signaling that the map to the treasure rests on the back of the Declaration of Independence. The dig is about a foot deep and just happens to uncover the portion of the ship conveniently labeled "Charlotte." From the first moment the film flickers across the screen, we find that plausibility isn't something this movie can bother itself with. Ben's financier Ian (Bean) double-crosses him, absconding with the new clue, leaving Ben to roast on the centuries old ship. The obligatory improbable escape follows setting our good versus evil dynamic into action.

National Treasure Starring: Nicolas Cage, Diane Kruger, Justin Bartha, Sean Bean, Jon Voight, Harvey Keitel and Christopher Plummer Director: Jon Turteltaub BUY OR RENT IT NOW! You may also like... Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade Pirates of the Caribbean Email this article to a friend Carrie Underwood Tour Dates Find when Underwood will be in your town Tour dates, tickets and information www.CarrieUnderwoodTour.com NETFLIX - Rent Movies Only $11.99 a month. No Late Fees. Over 40,000 Titles. Free Trial. www.netflix.com Wicked Tickets Find Sold Out Theatre Tickets To the Hottest Shows on Broadway www.VandelayTickets.com

History is definitely at the forefront of everything in this picture. You get a nice Cliff Notes's refresher version of your high school American History class. They jump between historic locales from the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia and the Lincoln Memorial in D.C. to the Saratoga and Wall Street in New York. It is a very scenic tour that stokes the patriotic spirit swimming around in the traveler in all of us. The story, though ridiculously implausible and the dialog is a flat tire, is fairly compelling. It ropes you in and keeps you engaged in this interesting search for the treasure. One clue flips over the rock to another clue, which in turn unearths another. You keep wondering if this whole adventure is a farce, and if it is real then what lies at the end of their death defying escapes. Also the action/adventure sequences add a lot to this picture. Bruckheimer has his studios stamp on this one so you can be assured of ample large explosions, gunfights and people dangling from unstable platforms.

Surprisingly, this is an enjoyable film, but it's quite mindless. It doesn't offer anything fresh or new to the adventure genre and comes off as a poor man's Indiana Jones. Though in the dry family oriented film market, this definitely qualifies as one of the more positive entries, which is a very sad statement. Disney is the production company putting its financial muscle behind this picture. So if you can check out for a couple hours and rest your mind on the backburner, you'll find National Treasure to be an interesting adventure through American History.

Buy or Rent National Treasure now.