National Treasure

I watched National Treasure last night knowing that I should probably watch the first movie before I watch the sequel which is in theaters now. Unlike Jackass 2, this 2004 prequel is probably important in this case.

The movie stars Nicholas Cage, a prominent actor of our time, my favorite Cage movies were when he was young - Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Racing With the Moon, Peggy Sue Got Married, and Raising Arizona. John Voight, Diane Kruger (very attractive), Justin Bartha, Sean Bean, and Harvey Keitel are also in the movie as supporting cast.

In this movie, Cage plays Benjamin Franklin Gates, the son in the lineage of people who know about the Free Masons and their secret treasure that had been collected over history. There are clues that his family has that can help him find this treasure, but there are also bad people that are trying to beat him to it. He learns that the Declaration of Independence contains a secret map and must now prevent his arch-nemesis from stealing the map.

Cage conveniently figures out clues on the fly and somehow is able to get into places of prestige or with high levels of security unmolested. He makes a several day trip from D.C. to Pennsylvania to New York without ever sleeping or eating and though he didn't pack a suitcase, has a change of clothes. However, I wasn't too bothered with this minutia. The movie is rated PG afterall.

However, that does bring up one thing that did stump me - why the PG rating? Did they want this movie to appeal to kids? I cannot see that. The movie is a bit more cerebral that what a child could comprehend. Not only would my 8 year old daughter not understand the movie, I seriously doubt that she would be interested. She doesn't know about the Free Masons and their secret society that rules the world, nor would she care!

Overall, I gave this movie 3 stars. It was interesting enough to keep my attention, though I probably wouldn't go out of my way to watch it again. I expect the sequel to be similar, if not slightly less realistic.