National Treasure [DVD] [2004]

National Treasure is a fun, family orientated action adventure, nothing more, nothing less. All the usual bits are here, the romantic interest, the humourous sidekick, father-son reunion but even with all these common elements movies don't always work. This one does thanks to a fun plot and good chemistry between the actors. Not an intellectual challenge, just a couple of hours of enjoyment. Nothing wrong with that!

`National Treasure' stars Nicholas Cage as Ben Gates, a treasure hunter whose life-long dream is to find the treasures from the templar knights. A clue at the North Pole sets things in motion, and Ben must use his formidable cryptography skills to decipher puzzles hidden in the most unlikely places--one appears on the dollar bill, and another is on the back of the U.S. constitution. Ben's unscrupulous former partner (Sean Bean) and his gang of thugs are also after the treasure for selfish, evil purposes. A plot to steal the constitution sets off a 13-colony-wide chase with all the trimmings: cops going after the wrong man, the rescue of a cute female cryptographer (Diane Kruger) who tags along for the ride, along with Jon Voight who plays Ben's disapproving father.

If you're a fan of other adventure films like Indiana Jones then this is a film for you! It's like The Da Vinci Code but a lot more fun. From the opening scenes there are just so many fast-pace, clever and near-impossible action sequences that do not fail to thrill at all.

As well as the action there is plenty of comedy, mainly from Ben's side-kick Riley (Justin Bartha) who comes out with endless one-liners. There's also a good amount of history to be learnt so if young ones are watching this is a perfect way of learning a bit of American history whilst watching an exciting action film, how much of it is true however, I'm not sure!

The picture on this Disney Blu Ray is simply unbeatable - every hair plug on Cage's head have never been clearer! I used to own this on standard DVD and this Blu Ray picture and sound quality is ten times better.

Overall this is an excellent globe-trotting adventure that audiences of all ages can enjoy. Highly recommended for anyone after some breathtaking action sequences and witty script.

An enjoyable film, for all its pretensions. In the same genre as the forthcoming Da Vinci Code but about something more mundane, its good fun. There are amusing moments, largely due to the self-obsession of the characters, but on the whole, a pleasant film. Sean Bean, as usual, stands head and shoulders above the rest. Nice to see Nic Cage trying something different, although the role of an educated but intuitive fortune-hunter is probably not going to become his forte.