National Treasure

I can't help but to have had high expectations of this movie. Sure, I kinda knew it was another Indiana Jones type thing, but from the makers of Pirates of the Carribean, I was expecting something extravagant.

The movie itself was good. There were quirky moments like in Pirates, and there were a lot of good one-liners that kept the movie going. I have to say, I quite liked Diana Kruger (who plays Abigail Chase). I didn't think much of her in Troy, but man, I liked her in this flick.

The story itself was quite interesting. There were a lot of unanswered questions though. It starts off with Ben Gates (played by Nicolas Cage) as a kid, then suddenly, he's already an explorer. No mention as to how he got all that money to use or anything of the sort. His father had claimed to have wasted 20 yrs of his life searching for the treasure, where do you get all that money to do nothing by treasure hunt?

The movie mentions a lot about the Masons and its' secret societies. I want to know if those societies really existed or if the entire story was fabricated. I'm sure there would be some myth or story that falls behind the movie, or some truth to history mentioned. I'm quite intrigued by it. Might need to do some research later. (I'll post it in a comment if I find anything). But throughout the movie, I was thinking to myself "Simpsons! Stonecutters!!"

I didn't like how they made Ben Gates so damn smart. Like how quickly he solved the riddle of the pipe... or how he knew what to do with the pipe to begin with. It just looked too choreographed. Too scripted. I didn't believe it. The antagonist, Ian Howe played by Sean Bean, annoyed me. I think he was also from Troy... He looked too pansy.

I have to admit, with the trailers and all, I was expecting hi-tech gadgets, floating pyramids, weapons on a treasure hunt, but nope... just a lot of well planned clues and smart light tricks. I still say it's worth the watch, but maybe wait till it's on DVD.

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0368891/

Official Website: http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/nationaltreasure/splash.html