The meat of the movie is like The Da Vinci Code... but this heist makes The Perfect Score look like Ocean's 11
National Treasure (2004)
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Reviews Counted:166
Fresh:72
Rotten:94
Average Rating:5.3/10
Consensus: National Treasure is no treasure, but it's a fun ride for those who can forgive its highly improbable plot.
Rated: PG [See Full Rating] for action violence and some scary images.
Runtime: 2 hrs 11 mins
Genre: Action/Adventure
Theatrical Release:Nov 19, 2004 Wide
Box Office: $172,975,674
Synopsis: A secret from our nation's past will lead to the greatest adventure in history. Producer Jerry Bruckheimer ("Pirates of the Caribbean,""The Rock," and "Armageddon") and director Jon Turteltaub... A secret from our nation's past will lead to the greatest adventure in history. Producer Jerry Bruckheimer ("Pirates of the Caribbean,""The Rock," and "Armageddon") and director Jon Turteltaub ("Phenomenon,""While You Were Sleeping") team up to bring you "National Treasure." Academy Award®-winner Nicolas Cage stars as the brilliant Benjamin Franklin Gates, third generation treasure hunter. All his life, Gates has been searching for a treasure no one believed existed: amassed through the ages, moved across continents, to become the greatest treasure the world has ever known. Hidden by our Founding Fathers, they left clues to the Treasure's location right before our eyes … from our nation's birthplace, to the nation's capitol, to clues buried within the symbols on the dollar bill. Gates' life-long journey leads him to the last place anyone thought to look: a map hidden on the back of the Declaration of Independence. But what he thought was the final clue is only the beginning. Gates realizes in order to protect the world's greatest treasure, he must now do the unthinkable: steal the most revered, best guarded document in American history before it falls into the wrong hands. In a race against time, Gates must elude the authorities, stay one step ahead of his ruthless adversary (Sean Bean), decipher the remaining clues and unlock the 2000 year-old mystery behind our greatest national treasure. -- © Walt Disney Pictures [More]
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Justin Bartha, Sean Bean, Diane Kruger
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Justin Bartha, Sean Bean, Diane Kruger, Harvey Keitel, Jon Voight
Director: Jon Turteltaub
Director: Jon Turteltaub
Screenwriter: Cormac Wibberly, Marianne Wibberly
Producer: Christina Steinberg, Jerry Bruckheimer, Jon Turteltaub
Composer: Trevor Rabin
Studio: Buena Vista Pictures
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Release:
May 3, 2005
Reviews for National Treasure
This is spreadsheet filmmaking, soulless and overly designed for maximum box-office effect...
Unfortunately, it lacks the conviction to embrace its own garish awfulness, resulting in little more than tedious historical and patriotic hokum...
This would be fun if director Jon Turteltaub didn't move things along at a snail's pace.
A cornucopia of ridiculously over-the-top action, humor, and romance conceived in the Bruckheimer tradition.
An impatient, over-plotted caper-mystery populated by undercooked characters, far-fetched contrivances and routine genre twists.
On the heals of the very popular adventure novel, The Da Vinci Code (by Dan Brown), “National Treasure” takes many elements of that book (intentional or not, you decide)
Fluffy, frenetic and sometimes downright farcical, National Treasure makes gleeful fun of itself while leading us popcorn-munching escapists down a tangled, painless adventure trail.
It's everything you loved about The Da Vinci Code, stripped of its religious context and transposed to early America.
This long, and long-winded, series of middling cliffhangers won't pump the adrenaline of action aficionados.
It's bad news when a Bruckheimer movie makes one downright nostalgic for The Rock...
Treasure may fall a notch below Pirates of the Caribbean on the pleasureometer, but it does give American history sex appeal and celebrates a guy who relies on brainware rather than gadgets.
With its ludicrous frisson of patriotism and a nod to The Da Vinci Code, a more cynical grab for Hollywood gold is hard to imagine.
Has all the soul, wit and originality of a major co-branding campaign.
The clever bits are swamped by no-brainer gunfights, rescues, and chases galore.
Latest News for National Treasure
September 25, 2008:
Nic Cage Officially Hunting for More National Treasure ![]()
To no one's surprise, Disney is officially moving forward with "National Treasure 3," as announced yesterday by Nicolas Cage, Jerry Bruckheimer, and studio executive Dick Cook. More...
December 20, 2007:
Box Office Guru Preview: Five New Films Fight For Holiday Cheer
Moviegoers are in for a feast as studios will unleash a wide menu of new options on Friday trying to reach holiday patrons on the weekend before Santa comes to town. With so... More...
December 17, 2007:
Talks Begin for National Treasure 3
National Treasure was never intended to be a franchise. When the first installment did well, the filmmakers started from scratch to come up with a sequel. This time, though,... More...
October 01, 2007:
National Treasure 2 Poster Online!
We've seen stills and a pair of trailers for National Treasure: Book of Secrets, due December 21. How's about a poster? More...
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 66% 66% | Public Enemies |
| 83% 83% | Harry Potter and the H… |
| 44% 44% | Night at the Museum: B… |
| 75% 75% | Julie & Julia |
| 32% 32% | Terminator Salvation |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 90% 90% | District 9 |
| 86% 86% | 500 Days of Summer |
| 63% 63% | Extract |
| 06% 06% | All About Steve |
| 78% 78% | It Might Get Loud |
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