SYNOPSIS:
Modern
treasure hunters, led by an archaelogist who is the eighth descendant in
a family all searching for the same thing: a massive war chest treasure
reportedly hidden by George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin
as funds for the Revolutionary War, use a secret code found in the Constitution
(and a map that might have been drawn on the back of the Declaration of
Independence) to find the treasure's location.
MOVIE
REVIEW :
No doubt about it, there will be people out there making comparisions between
"National Treasure" and "Da Vinci Code". But before
you dismiss "National Treasure" as a cheap rip-off, give me a
minute and read this review, best of all get a copy of this dvd and see
it for yourself.
Nicolas
Cage played Ben Gates, for six generations, the Gates family have been chasing
after the Knights Templar treasure. But liked any other treasure hunts,
it's never easy. Clues after clues and still no one succeeds in tracing
the treasure's whereabouts and as Ben's father (played by the ever reliable
Jon Voight) said, the treasure might not even exists in the first place.
Now, Ben Gates has found the ultimate clue as to where the treasure are
hidden but it's on the back of the heavily guarded Declaration of Independence.
In
comes the deliciously looking babe from "Troy", Diane Kruger who
plays the director of the National Archives and of course is in charge of
the Declaration. Unwillingly, she is forced on a journey with Gates to unravel
the clues to the so-called treasures. An easy excuse for a love interest.
Hot on the heels of Ben is Ian Howe (Sean Bean from "Lord of the Rings")
a ruthless entrepreneur who would do anything (from bombing the National
Archives to attempting murder on Gates and gang) to lay his hands on the
treasure.
And so as any Jerry Bruckheimer's productions go, explosions, gunshots and
car chases are inevitable. Although much tamer in frantic mindless action
plotting, "National Treasure" actually teaches you a thing or
two about American history along the way. Director Jon Turteltaub whose
last movie was the low-key Bruce Willis's movie, "The Kid" does
an impressive job here, combining wits, humour with enough action sequences
to keep you entertained.
Overall, as any other popcorn movie of this era, "National Treasure"
might not be listed as a "believable historically correct treasure
hunting movie". At least, it entertains and brings along the audience
on a wild ride that well deserved two hours of your time.
SPECIAL
FEATURES :
For
a single disc edition, the extras are pretty hefy. For a start, there's
a 11 minutes making of special, "National Treasure on Location".
What's most interesting is seeing how the digital artists composite some
of the sequences from bluescreen to the finished scene in the movie. A pity
that a segement on CG is not included.
There are 2 "Deleted Scenes" namely "Thomas & The President"
and "Extended Shaft Sequence" on the disc, including an intro
by Director Jon Turteltaub. Nothing spectacular nor mesmerising here but
watching more of a movie during your free time don't kill, right?
Next up is a 2 minute animatic opening sequence which discusss the pre-vis
of what is going to be filmed so as to allow the filmmakers to make adjustments
and edits before they actully filmed out the process. Intro included.
You will also find a 2 minute "Alternate Ending" which was abandoned
during test screening. See it and decide which one is your preference. I
for one prefer the final ending which is seen in the movie.
The rest of the extras are a bit tricky, kiddy if you dislike those "clues"
games. Think Harry Potter dvd series. Basically all you need to find the
clues which consist of numbers to open up the bonuses. Anyway, the featurettes
are pretty educational and informative. "Treasure Hunters Revealed"
talks about real-life treasure hunters, how they hunt down underwater historical
artifacts and how you can be a treasure hunter yourself without paying tonnes
of money on equipments. "Riley's Decode This!" is a short featurette
in which Riley explains the history of Egyptian encrytion follows by a five-minute
segment on the history of "The Knights Templar".
There's no "National Treasure" trailer attached but a sneak peak
on "The Incredibles" dvd release included.
AUDIO:
The
sound which consisted of mainly explosions, gunshots are reproduced with
much bass on Dolby Digital 5.1. You can feel as if you are with Ben Gates
as the dialogues are of superb clarity and most sounds emitting from the
rear speakers.
VISUAL:
The
colours and transfer quality displayed faultlessly on my Sony television
set. Although some fuzziness can be spotted at times. Nevertheless, it never
kills the enjoyment of catching "National Treasure" on anamorphic
ratio 2.35:1. Objects and characters still maintained the expected sharpness
and brightness.
THAT'S
ALL FOLKS!:
Like I said
earlier, for a single disc edition, the extras in "National Treasure"
are pretty hefy. The movie is entertaining with an excellent cast to accompany
you and the dvd transfer in terms of sound and visual are above average.
So this dvd is something you might wish to keep as a form of treasure on
your dvd shelf.
MOVIE
RATING:B
DVD RATING: B+
Review by Linus.T.
