National Treasure



National Treasure

Introduction

National Treasure is one of those movies that's great because it has a lot of intriguing American and world history… and not so great, because a lot of the history isn't true. Great because it takes an impossible, illegal, but exciting task (i.e., stealing the Declaration of Independence) and tries to work it into the film in such a way that it becomes both possible and legal.

Story telling

Hundreds of years ago, the Knights Templar collected an enormous treasure consisting of artifacts from around the world. Over time, the treasure was secretly hidden in the U.S. by the Masons, a society entrusted with the treasure's care(Kirkland, 2008). Wanting to keep the treasure out of the hands of the British, Benjamin Franklin and other members of the Masons hid the treasure in a secret location during the American Revolution and left clues to its whereabouts hidden in various places. Unfortunately, all those who knew the location of the treasure died before it could be shared. By chance the Gates family ended up with the first clue to finding it. They have passed the secret on through the family for generations.

In the modern day, Benjamin Franklin Gates now holds the first clue to finding the treasure. His search for it has cost him his professional reputation, his family, and his fortune. However, he has recently gained funding from a wealthy businessman and adventurer named Ian Howe. Together they find the first clue that leads them to yet another clue. Unfortunately, it's a map hidden on the back of the Declaration of Independence. How will they gain access to the document to find the treasure?

At this point Gates and Howe find themselves split on how to proceed. Gates wants to go through legal channels to examine the document while the impatient Howe prefers shadier means - he wants to steal it. Thus begins a high stakes race between the two former partners to steal the Declaration of Independence and be the first to find the treasure. Howe uses an elite team of deadly mercenaries while Gates is aided by his tech-geek friend Riley Poole. But will the Declaration just lead them to yet another clue for a non-existent treasure?

Acting, Style and directing

The two best words to describe National Treasure are Jerry Bruckheimer. Stretch it to three and they'd be suspension of disbelief. Combining both descriptions is almost like tautology. The first has become a Hollywood synonym for the second. The good thing about a Jerry Bruckheimer film is you know what to expect. The bad thing about a Jerry Bruckheimer film is you know what to expect. Delivered with all the subtlety of Liberace's wardrobe, National Treasure is a high concept cross between Indiana Jones and The DaVinci code (Sciretta, 2008). 

A modern day treasure hunt, it's more like a video game but with less realistic characters. The notorious producer has his imprimatur stamped all over National Treasure. From the combustible action, to the corny dialogue it's classic ...