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query.nytimes.com - : New York Times : That mythology, derived from Freemasonry, holds that a map, drawn in invisible ink on the back of the Declaration of Independence, contains clues to the whereabouts of the Greatest Treasure Ever Told About. The Knights of Templar, some of whom were Founding Fathers, supposedly left a trail of coded clues that begins on a frozen ship north of the Arctic Circle and ends in the bowels of Lower Manhattan under a crumbling system of dumbwaiters. more...
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C-
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rogerebert.suntimes.com - : Chicago Sun-Times : The central weakness of the story is the absurdity of the clues, which are so difficult that no sane forefather could have conceivably believed that anyone could actually follow them. That the movie's hero, named Benjamin Franklin Gates and played by Nicolas Cage, is able to intuitively sense the occult meanings of ancient riddles and puzzles is less a tribute to his intelligence than to the screenplay supplying him with half a dozen bonus A-ha! Moments. more...
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C+
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www.filmcritic.com - : Filmcritic.com : The first 15 minutes in which National Treasure’s story begins to unfold comprise a nearly unbearable montage of cheese-ball History Channel-esque footage of knights and revolutionary generals mixed in with random Masonic symbols. Christopher Plummer’s gee-whiz grandfatherly voice drones softly on for what seems like an eternity, setting up what may be the hokiest plot ever conceived. more...
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B-
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metromix.chicagotribune.com - : Chicago Tribune : Cage plays Benjamin Franklin Gates (please, just call him Ben), the eighth generation of Gates men to hunt down the Knights Templar Treasure, a priceless cache said to have been amassed in the 11th Century, brought to America by the Freemasons and hidden by such vagabonds as Thomas Jefferson and George Washington. more...
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B
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Critic Reviews
