Motivated by a noble cause, a man searches for the hidden treasure of the Knights Templar, accompanied by a smart female scholar, while being chased by evil men who would like the treasure for themselves. Sound familiar?
Modeled after Dan Brown’s best-selling “The Da Vinci Code,” “National Treasure” all but owns this category. Of course, Jerry Bruckheimer changed it up a bit, replacing the Mona Lisa with the Declaration of Independence. But it doesn’t help that the “The Da Vinci Code” is written in the masterful style of R.L. Stine’s “Goosebumps” series. The plot remains as forced as showing up to Monday morning classes and as intellectually stimulating as two hours of “Blue’s Clues.”
The treasure hunter (Nicolas Cage) and companion (Diane Kruger) don’t really do anything special, while the sidekick (Justin Bartha) reaches a Jar Jar Binks level of annoyingness. The only good part of the movie is when Harvey Keitel arrives, re-enacting his “Pulp Fiction” role as the man you call when you fuck up.