National Treasure (2004) * * *

Directed by:  Jon Turteltaub

Starring:  Nicolas Cage, Jon Voight, Diane Kruger, Sean Bean, Justin Bartha, Harvey Keitel

National Treasure doesn't hold up to much, if any, scrutiny.    It is the type of thriller that you enjoy while knowing full well it is silly, preposterous, and leaves you with more questions than answers.     Whatever the opposite of realistic is, National Treasure is that, but it's a lot of fun too.   It is one of those movies where, sooner or later, each major character will find himself holding a torch.

I won't give away too many Big Reveals, mostly because there are so many in National Treasure.    Nicolas Cage stars as Ben Gates, a historian who has been on the trail of elusive treasure which is the stuff of legends and fables.     His crew includes Riley (Bartha), a snarky computer whiz and natural-born sidekick, and Ian (Bean), who we know will betray Ben and Riley because he is played by Sean Bean (who rarely plays a hero).   This occurs during a critical dig in the Arctic tundra where the crew unburies a long missing warship with minimal digging.   If only finding Noah's Ark were this easy.

Ben and Riley do survive and discover that the next clue to the missing treasure is, get this, on a hidden map on the back of the Declaration of Independence.    They, with the unwitting aid of a sexy national archivist named Abigail Chase (Kruger), are able to steal the document and smuggle it out of Washington, DC with the FBI and Ian's crew on their tails.   They stay ahead, but not far ahead.   Ben enlists the help of his father Patrick (Voight), who knows a thing or two about obsession with treasure.

The quest takes everyone from Washington to Philly to New York (and for some even Boston).    The Declaration of Independence goes with it, passing from person to person.    The Declaration is such an old document that it's a wonder it doesn't just disintegrate.    It doesn't in this movie.    There are so many other logistical questions that pop up, although not necessarily while you're watching.    One question that comes to mind is:  How were the folks who hid all of this treasure able to move it around without being noticed?    The task of building the room which houses all of the treasure pieces took maybe slightly less effort than building the pyramids.  But I digress.

National Treasure is a silly adventure, but thankfully the actors seem to take it seriously.    Cage is an intelligent enough actor that we believe him every time he solves a riddle or a puzzle which leads to another clue.   His next job should be deciphering cell phone bills.    I enjoyed National Treasure because it is implausible, goofy fun.    It plays like it has a smile on its face.    I know logical questions will break the mood, but if the guys who hid the treasure never wanted anyone to find it, then why leave clues at all, no matter how difficult they may be to follow?