The film National Treasure was released November 19th, 2004. The film is an action, adventure, and mystery; it was directed by Jon Turteltaub. The actor, Nicholas Cage, plays a man named Benjamin Franklin Gates who comes from a family of treasure-seekers. Ben and his father believe that the forefathers’ buried a treasure somewhere in the country and they have placed clues everywhere. This leads him and his friends, Abigail Chase and Riley Poole, to some interesting places along the way. However, it is not too easy for him because the FBI is chasing him the whole time for stealing the Declaration of Independence and his former colleague, Ian Howe, is going after the treasure as well. The film cost 100,000,000 dollars to make and grossed over 173,000,000 dollars in the United States; it was a very successful film.
What makes the film great are its storyline, acting, and action sequences. First of all, the storyline was outstanding. In order for Benjamin and his fellow treasure hunters to find the treasure, they have to break many laws. For example, they steal the Declaration of Independence and trespass through various places. They are willing to do whatever it takes to find the treasure that the Founding Fathers left behind after the Revolutionary War. All of the mysterious parts kept the audience on the edge of their seats.
Furthermore, the acting was excellent in the film. Nicholas Cage is a well known actor and did an excellent job in this movie. His friends, Abigail and Riley, are played by Diane Kruger and Justin Bartha. The two of them put a touch of comedy into the movie which made it even better. The acting was so good that many children believed the film was based on a true event. We do not see many films like this one now a days; it is good to watch something finally different. Some critics may say that it was very unbelievable and unrealistic. However, it is a great family movie and teaches kids about history.
Another thing the audience loved about the film was its action sequences. For example, when Ian was chasing Ben in their cars to get to the next clue faster, the car chase was thrill riding. However, it still included mystery in the scene by Ben flashing the Declaration of Independence at the traffic camera. He ran the red light; therefore, the traffic camera took a picture of him and his license plate. He hacked in and found the picture and he found clues on the back of the document. The movie had an equal balance of action adventure and mystery.
Overall, National Treasure was a very successful film. It grossed a large amount of money and it is loved by people everywhere. It is rated PG-13 because of its action and involvement with guns and shooting. The audience should be 13 years of age or older because of the violence. Also, when someone is at an old enough age, the person could fully grasp and understand the movie a lot more thoroughly.