A National Pleasure to watch!
Ben Gates (Nicholas Cage) the youngest in a long line of Treasure Hunters grew up believing his family had a key to a secret treasure dating back to the Founding Fathers. In the hopes of clearing his family name, Gates sets out to steal the Declaration of Independence before another treasure hunter does. Ben, accompanied by his witty sidekick Riley (Justin Bartha) use their brains, luck and some computer savvy to help solve history's riddles that they encounter, leading them on an historical wild goose chase.
If you can enjoy a movie for what it is then I think you will like this fast paced adventure. It may not be completely historically accurate but the combination of history and mystery are certainly fun to watch. A lot of the movie is reality meeting the impossible or at least improbable, yet it makes it look easy to steal a highly guarded document. But oh well that’s why it is a movie right? This movie also made my stop at the National Archives building in Washington D.C. a lot more fun and interesting. National Treasure has an Indiana Jones type feel, not quite as much action but the hunt for treasure is on.
Motherly Advice: ClearPlay did its job by cutting out some profanity and blasphemy and, refreshingly, it didn’t have to work too hard beyond that. It also feels good when a filmmaker puts out a movie that has very little of the junk that makes it difficult to let your pre-teens and adolescents see without skewing too young. With a treasure at stake there are plenty of cat and mouse chase scenes that include gunfire but no casualties or blood; there are also some threats of death, both verbal and non-verbal; one character does fall to his death but nothing graphic, all that is shown is the man falling off of something and then cutting away. There is a love story but it is more of a subtle part of the film and not overly cheesy but there is a kiss that they share, so nothing to fear here. All in all it is a great family movie that can be enjoyed by anyone 8+.
Hannah – ClearPlay Treasure Seeker
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Our family loves this movie. My 10-year old daughter just watched it at school, so I can offer a couple of thoughts from her perspective...she didn't like the "skeleton parts" (when they're exploring the buried ship they find some ship crew remains), and there was one tiny blood part she didn't like, when he pricks his finger with a knife to use his blood as ink for the pipe. But other than that, it's all good! And I actually don't remember any swearing, but I do remember two scenes where I thought there would have been swearing but the director seems to have decided to cut it out at the last minute! First, when the lady says, "That's dumb, give me that!!" when trying to get the Declaration back...and Riley responds, "I'm pretty sure she was swearing, too." But she hadn't! Ha ha. And the other part is when Nicholas Cage is on the phone, and he finds out some bad news. Instead of cursing, he just makes a face and stomps his foot (essentially). It thought that was so refreshing. This movie is so well done. That's why we keep re-watching it periodically. Two thumbs up from our family.
ReplyDeleteGreat movie - there is really nothing more to be said about it...
ReplyDeleteI don't love the part where Nicholas Cage and Diane Kruger are changing behind screens in the same room. It doesn't really show anything, but it seemed kind of unnecessarily suggestive to me.
ReplyDeleteLove the movie. It nearly tricked me into thinking that Nicholas Cage was a good actor.
I don't love the part where Nicholas Cage and Diane Kruger are changing behind screens in the same room. It doesn't really show anything, but it seemed kind of unnecessarily suggestive to me.
ReplyDeleteLove the movie. It nearly tricked me into thinking that Nicholas Cage was a good actor.
Love both of these movies!
ReplyDeleteI love this movie, and recommend it to everyone. There are so many elements for a family to enjoy, especially the value of scholarly study! Nicholas Cage as Benjamin Franklin Gates would be just another stereotypical character if not for his extensive knowledge of history, and the banter between him and 'girlfriend' Abigail Chase is a great example of why we should all strive for learning. Two Thumbs Up!
ReplyDeleteCathy D