An enjoyably mindless action adventure romp that owes a debt to both Raiders Of The Lost Ark and The Da Vinci Code, National Treasure neatly mixes American history with puzzles and explosions. Boffin Ben Gates (Cage) has always wanted to find the legendary treasure of America's Founding Fathers, and it seems he may finally discover it if his former pal Ian (Bean) doesn't get there first. With the help of blonde Abigail Chase (Kruger), who conveniently works for the National Archive, and his computer-geek assistant Riley (Justin Bartha), Ben attempts to solve various riddles and figure out cryptic clues while both Ian and the FBI (in the form of Harvey Keitel) are in hot pursuit.
It's all terribly silly if you stop to think about it, and historians would probably faint at the inaccuracies, but Cage, Bean and co are amiable enough and the treasure hunt itself is a treat.
Is National Treasure suitable for kids? Here are our parents’ notes...
There’s lots of action, a little violence, but no truly scary bits.
If you like this, why not try: National Treasure 2: Book Of Secrets, Raiders Of The Lost Ark, The Goonies, Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom, Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade,