National Treasure Details

This seemingly shameless attempt to cash in on the success of The Da Vinci Code (which is due for its own celluloid adaptation) is part historical detective story, part conspiracy thriller and part Boys' Own adventure. But director Jon Turteltaub never quite finds a successful way to marry all these elements together. An almost comatose Nicolas Cage sleepwalks his way through the role of Benjamin Franklin Gates, who embarks on a cross-country treasure hunt to discover the whereabouts of booty hidden by the Founding Fathers of the United States. En route, there are some limp action moments (although a sequence involving the theft of the Declaration of Independence is well handled), colourless characters (Sean Bean's villain is particularly bland) and sluggish storytelling (the clues to the fortune's location are frighteningly reminiscent of 1980s game show 3-2-1). Yet, against the odds, this Jerry Bruckheimer production still has enough to keep the undemanding interested in the predictable outcome.

Dab some lemon juice on the back of Americas Declaration of Independence and shazam! theres a map... read more on Time Out