La búsqueda (National Treasure)

Jon Turtletaub's best film must endure the critics propensity to penalize highly popular commercially successful family-friendly Disney films... "What does the common folk know about filmmaking?" It's much better than most of those reviews indicate.

Yes, this film works hard to be likable and appealing to a mass audience - perhaps it's just too preposterous a story, and has too much witty repertoire to be taken seriously by some critics. Witty repertoire CAN wear thin and become precocious in movies, but in 'National Treasure', it's the film's most endearing and appealing factor, carried off successfully by some of the most experienced actors in the business - They keep the film fun and pull off their quips with deft skill - Bravo!

A well casted, directed and edited film that doesn't pretend to be more than it is, and delivers what audiences came to see.

Enjoy this snappy-paced treasure hunt Disney ride without guilt - it's OK to have escapism fun watching movies, and this one does it as well as any, so grab a bowl of popcorn and indulge yourself.

👍👍

Here we have a classical Nicholas Cage film that will carry into the future. It is the peak of 'follow the clues' type of adventure film. The premise is just obscene enough to create this funny air over the movie and has enough twists and turns that keep the audience engaged. The villain is a very standard villain but it is nice that they nearly mirror our heroes in treasure hunting prowess. It is simple and not necessarily the most impressive but overall I would have to consider it one of the quintessential Nick Cage films.

I am NOT, repeat, NOT, a Nicolas Cage fan, mainly because he relies too much on action to carry his films (instead of his acting), but this is a pretty decent flick. There is enough action and suspense to keep the viewer's interest and also to maintain the pace of the film. There's actually not very much actual violence (strange for a Cage film!), but the story is so well-written that even Cage can pull it off without any gore. The basic story has been reviewed several times, but it's the continuation of a 200 year old treasure hunt. Cage must solve riddle after riddle to find the ultimate clue to the treasure's whereabouts. The clue is finally determined to be on the back of the Declaration of Independence. How Cage figures the clue that leads him there is pretty far-fetched but its the key to the story. If you buy into that, the rest of the riddles are acceptable. There's also a double cross plot headed by the great Sean Bean that provides a lot of the action. The lovely Diane Kruger portrays the poor lady who gets caught up in the middle of all this intrigue. Overall, except for the figuring out of the clue found in the ship (the viewer just has to assume that he's that far above the rest of us in intelligence), a pretty exciting film with a little something for everyone.

A descendant (Nicolas Cage) of a family of fortune hunters looks for a treasure chest that was hidden by the Founding Fathers of the new United States after the Revolutionary War. After being double-crossed by European Sean Bean and his men while obtaining another clue in the Arctic, Cage and sidekick Justin Bertha (who nearly steals the show with his quick-witted one-liners) travel to D.C. to obtain the Declaration of Independence. It is believed that there is an invisible map on the back of that historic document. A daring cat and mouse game continues between Cage and Bean as the ultra-hot Diane Kruger (who made almost no impression in the disappointing "Troy") gets involved as well. Jon Voight (Cage's skeptical father) also gets thrown in the mix as the movie progresses and he does some of the best work of his career in an endearing and quietly comical role. A brilliant scavenger hunt for clues along the major cities of the East Coast will leave you on the edge of your seat. "National Treasure" is a fun trip to the movies. The setup (told by Cage's grandfather, Christopher Plummer) is a bit uneven and I was worried that this was going to be a disaster, but I am glad it was not. The characters are all smart and intelligent and the pace is fast and furious. Wonderful entertainment for the entire family. Surprisingly one of the finer pictures of 2004. 4 stars out of 5.

This was a fun film, sort of like an Indian Jones movie, but the treasure hunter must figure out clues. I'm sure the reason this was made and released now has a lot to do with the Da Vinci Code. The plot is just like it except instead of involving religious history, the clues center around American history, and namely the founding fathers.

So Nick Cage, plays Ben Gates, the treasure hunter whose family has been looking for the treasure of the knights templer for years. One of his relatives possessed the last remaining clue from a dying Mason. So, the movie starts with Cage finally solving that clue, and the film goes from there. Of course, we have the evil billionaire guy who wants the treasure for himself and the funny sidekick. But, I think the sidekick failed because he wasn't all that funny. The movie could have used some more humor. And of course, Gates hooks up with a beautiful woman along the way to help him solve the clues, which sounds just like Da Vinci.

It is unbelievable that someone could just come up with the answer to these difficult clues after thinking about them for 2 minutes, but we don't have time to let the characters ponder them for a few months. It is meant to be fun, so forget about the plot holes. The whole set beneath the church looked very neat, but I would have to think all those wooden stairs would have been rotten by then and no one could walk on them. But who cares, it's fun.

And the theft of the Declaration of Independence was reminiscent of Ocean's 11. Funny how anyone can steal anything in a film, forget locked down security.

FINAL VERDICT: If you like adventure films, I recommend it. It is not like Tomb Raider, which some have compared it to. Tomb Raider was horrible. This is more like Indiana Jones.