Review of National Treasure (2004) by Chris B — 10 Jun 2018

This is a fun, exciting, and goofy movie. Don't think about the plot too hard, and it is a good time. The characters are charming, earnest, and fun to watch - very disney. I enjoyed the formula of history plus speculation plus fiction, although there are plenty of holes.

I also really enjoyed seeing the heroes, who are historians, solve problems by being historians, not being somehow transformed into martial arts experts as happens ridiculously often in other movies. The bad guys are bad because they shoot at people; the good guys are good because they don't shoot, they solve puzzles and run away from the bad guys.

Makes sense! Although there is certainly some moral ambiguity in the premise ("To save the Declaration of Independence, I will have to steal the Declaration of Independence "), this is portrayed as a last resort.

..wait, who advised not thinking too hard about the plot? Anyway, I strongly recommend for a night you are looking to watch something with the kids.